Women's representation in media is not translating into equal access to leadership, with structural barriers, workplace assumptions and changing technology continuing to shape their career trajectories, speakers said at a panel discussion in Tokyo.

Speaking at the FIBEP World Media Intelligence Congress 2026, Nahar Khan, Executive Editor of United News of Bangladesh (UNB) and Founder of Solis, and Japan-based freelance writer Louise George Kittaka highlighted the challenges women face in advancing to senior positions, the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for future career pathways, and the need to turn representation into meaningful opportunities.

The session, titled "Leading the Story: Women Shaping the Future of Media", was moderated by Susan Aitken of TVEyes.

On the impact of AI on the next generation of media professionals, Nahar Khan called for newsrooms to redesign their professional development and leadership pipelines to ensure that young journalists continue to acquire essential skills.

Newsrooms are traditionally where journalists learn to verify information, identify compelling stories, develop sources, work under pressure and exercise editorial judgment, she said.

"If AI takes over some of those tasks, we need to deliberately redesign the learning experience," she said.

She suggested introducing structured editorial apprenticeships, supervised investigative assignments, newsroom rotations and earlier exposure to decision-making to prepare the next generation of media professionals.

Employers should also assess whether journalists are developing these essential capabilities rather than focusing only on their use of AI tools, she said.

"At UNB, we are looking at how technology can support reporting while keeping human judgment and editorial responsibility central," she added.

"For me, the principle is straightforward: if we automate the work but fail to replace the learning, we will eventually have a leadership problem that is much harder to solve."

"AI and technology are accelerating that transformation," said Nahar Khan, who is also the founder of Solis, noting that the changes presented both opportunities and risks for women in the media industry.

The panel was moderated by Susan Aitkin of TVEyes and brought together international media leaders to discuss the changing landscape of digital content, global reporting and the growing influence of women executives and innovators in the media intelligence and broadcasting sectors.

Nahar Khan said leadership was no longer defined solely by traditional newsroom hierarchies, as professionals with an understanding of technology, audience behaviour, business strategy and the information environment could now shape the future of media in ways that were not always available to them before.

However, she warned that automating entry-level work without creating alternative opportunities for learning and professional development could make leadership less accessible.

"If we remove entry-level opportunities without creating new pathways to develop judgment and experience, we could make leadership less accessible, not more," she said.

The media industry needs to address the barriers that prevent women from advancing to managerial and senior leadership positions, as many women enter the profession but gradually drop out of the career path, particularly at critical stages of professional growth, said journalist Louise George Kittaka.

Speaking at the same panel discussion, she said the challenge was not a lack of ambition among women but the failure of organisations to recognise and support their leadership potential.

"I'd say it's a leak, not a pipeline problem," she said, noting that many women in Japan enter the media and communications sectors but are lost at the transition to managerial positions and again at the senior leadership level.

Citing a recent interview with a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultant, she said women at one Japanese company were simply assumed not to aspire to leadership positions.

However, after they were given opportunities to interact with senior executives and were asked about their career ambitions in an appropriate way, the proportion of women seeking promotion increased from 32 percent to more than 70 percent within six months.

Addressing the representation of women in media coverage, Kittaka said women should routinely be recognised and interviewed for their professional expertise rather than having their gender made the central focus.

A woman running a technology company, for example, should be asked about her technology, customers and business decisions, rather than always being questioned about being a woman, she said.

Addressing the barriers women face in advancing to leadership positions, Nahar Khan said the challenge was not simply about bringing more women into the industry but ensuring that they could progress throughout their careers.

"I think it is both. We have to look beyond how many women enter the industry and ask how many are actually progressing through it," she said.

She pointed to unequal access to high-profile assignments, promotions, professional sponsorship and decision-making opportunities as some of the barriers that hold women back.

At every stage of their careers, she said, decisions are made about who gets challenging assignments and opportunities to demonstrate leadership potential.

She also highlighted a significant mid-career dropout among women, identifying the lack of structured career development as an important contributing factor.

While caregiving responsibilities could create additional challenges for women, she said such responsibilities should not fall solely on women.

On whether mentorship or sponsorship was more effective in advancing women into leadership positions, Nahar Khan said both were important, but sponsorship often made the decisive difference.

While mentorship provides guidance, perspective and confidence, sponsorship involves using one's influence to recommend women, provide them with opportunities and advocate for their promotion, she explained.

She also stressed the important role of men in advancing women's leadership, particularly as many senior decision-making positions in the industry continue to be held by men.

"Mentorship helps women prepare for the room. Sponsorship helps get them into it," she said.

She also called for broader coverage of women who build businesses, create opportunities and contribute to communities after stepping away from conventional corporate careers to raise families or relocate with their partners.

While structural barriers facing women deserve attention, media coverage should also highlight how women are creating businesses and bringing changes to communities and organisations, she added.

Kittaka, who works as a freelancer, said independent journalism allowed her to pursue niche stories and spend more time developing them, although staff writers working for media organisations might not always have the same flexibility.

On the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on entry-level media jobs, she warned that organisations risk overlooking the learning opportunities embedded in routine newsroom tasks when they automate them.

Researching background information, checking names, preparing interview briefs, arranging interviews, understanding the appropriate tone and incorporating editors' corrections may appear routine, but these tasks help young journalists develop professional judgment and essential media skills, she said.

She also noted that AI was challenging editors as well as writers, leaving the entire industry uncertain about the changes ahead.

Discussing the challenges of balancing family responsibilities and professional advancement, Kittaka said policies supporting working parents must be assessed not only by their availability but also by whether employees can use them without damaging their careers.

Japan offers relatively generous support, including up to a year of childcare leave and affordable, fully licensed daycare facilities, she said, noting that she had personally benefited from the country's daycare system when her children were young.

However, the country's collective work culture can make it difficult for women to fully resume their careers after returning from leave.

Many women feel guilty about creating additional work for colleagues while away or leaving early to pick up their children. They may also receive fewer meaningful assignments because managers and colleagues assume they are no longer interested in promotion, she said.

"Staying employed and continuing to progress are different measures of success," she observed.

She further highlighted eldercare as another major challenge for women, particularly in Japan, where people aged 65 and above account for almost 30 percent of the population.

The responsibility of caring for ageing parents and in-laws still falls largely on women, often at a stage when they are considering returning to work or reaching positions where senior executive opportunities become available.

For many women, she said, the demands of childcare are followed by eldercare, creating a double burden of largely invisible work.

On the role of mentorship and sponsorship in advancing women's careers, Kittaka distinguished between the two, describing mentorship as providing advice and guidance, while sponsorship involves advocacy and creating concrete opportunities.

Sponsorship can also be measured by tracking how many women are recommended for positions, promoted and supported by senior colleagues, she said.

She stressed that men must be actively involved in such initiatives, as advancing women's leadership should be a shared responsibility rather than a conversation limited to women.

She also called for efforts to move beyond isolated examples of women reaching senior positions and build larger groups of women leaders who can support the next generation.

"Saying 'we have one woman in our C-suite' or 'one mother who is now a manager' is not enough. One woman is an island. A cohort of women is a bridge, helping the next generation along," she said.

FIBEP now represents over 120 corporate members from 50 countries. Members specialise in providing global, enterprise-scale solutions in media monitoring, media analysis, PR distribution, journalist databases, consulting services, and SaaS platforms.

The theme "KAIZEN: Continuous Improvement for a New Era" was the central focus for their annual flagship event, the World Media Intelligence Congress (WMIC 2026) that took place in Tokyo, Japan (November 3-5, 2026).