WSCIJ to launch female experts source guide for Nigerian media

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is set to launch its Report Women! experts source guide for the Nigerian media. 

The launch, which will take place in Lagos on October 3, is part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of its Report Women! Programme.

In a statement on Tuesday, Motunrayo Alaka, WSCIJ’s executive director, said the guide was created to address the underrepresentation of women as expert sources in Nigerian media.

She said findings from WSCIJ’s 2024 report titled ‘Who leads the newsrooms and news?’ revealed that men dominate as expert sources in the media with 87.9 percent, while women make up only 12.1 percent.

According to Alaka, the source guide currently features over 500 female experts across various fields, including agriculture, business, education, health, science, law, media, politics, and security.

She said the platform will make it easier for journalists to include female perspectives in their reporting.

“The platform aims to ensure that journalists can access relevant female voices across various sectors, making it easier for media organisations to include female perspectives in their reporting,” Alaka said.

“WSCIJ plans to broaden the platform to include additional fields and will allow female experts to submit their profiles for inclusion, subject to internal approval,” she added.

The public presentation of the Report Women! experts source guide will feature the unveiling of the website, a demonstration of its use, and a panel discussion on how it can promote gender diversity in the media.

The initiative is part of WSCIJ’s Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement Project, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Since its inception in 2014, Report Women! has produced 86 fellows, trained 537 reporters across Nigeria and Ghana, and impacted 2,930 direct beneficiaries through fellows’ leadership projects.

Over the last decade, the programme has produced 136 stories focused on women’s and girls’ issues, implemented 138 leadership projects, and created six documentaries.