Online gathering highlights collaboration, mentorship, and leadership opportunities for women in sports journalism
Kabul | Sara Amiri
International Women’s Day has increasingly become a platform through which global institutions measure progress toward gender inclusion. Within sports media, where representation and leadership disparities persist, the latest international online gathering of journalists and industry leaders underscored how professional networks are attempting to reshape opportunities for women across the sector.
The event brought together sports media professionals from multiple regions to discuss collaboration, mentorship and structural barriers affecting women in the profession. Opening the session, AIPS Vice President and presidential candidate Dr. Zsuzsa Csisztu emphasized the importance of strengthening connections among sports journalists worldwide while highlighting several initiatives designed to support career development and professional inclusion.
Among the programmes discussed were the AIPS Young Reporters Programme and the World Sports Awards, alongside the Women in Sports and Gender Equality initiatives. These projects aim to expand access to mentorship, professional training and networking opportunities, reflecting a broader effort to institutionalize support systems that have historically been unevenly available to women in the industry.
A defining moment of the session came with the appearance of former Grand Slam tennis champion Andrea Temesvári. Reflecting on her professional career, she spoke about resilience and adaptability as essential qualities in both sport and journalism. Her remarks emphasized how navigating pressure and unexpected challenges often determines long-term success in competitive environments.
Participants from across the global sports media landscape shared perspectives on the evolving nature of the profession. Prarthana Hazarika highlighted the need to expand awareness of AIPS membership, noting that many journalists remain unfamiliar with the association and the resources it provides. Greater visibility, she argued, would enable sports reporters worldwide to access professional networks and development opportunities.
Nargiz M. Eldar, an Executive Committee member of AIPS Europe, focused on the role of digital platforms in strengthening professional collaboration. She described efforts to develop a dedicated network channel designed to connect journalists with resources, events and national press associations, creating clearer pathways to international engagement within the sports media community.
From the African continent, AIPS Africa Vice President Bertille Missi Bikoun stressed the importance of inclusive leadership structures. Drawing on her experience, she argued that ensuring women’s participation in decision-making processes strengthens not only representation but also the broader effectiveness of sports media institutions.
Valentina Peña Orozco highlighted another dimension of transformation within the profession: the rapid rise of digital content creation. Speaking from her experience in motorsports journalism, she explained how modern sports reporters increasingly manage every stage of content production, from concept development to multi-platform publishing, while prioritizing audience engagement through interactive storytelling.
Efforts to advance gender equality in sports journalism have gained momentum in recent years as international organizations attempt to address longstanding structural imbalances in representation, leadership and professional access. Initiatives launched by global bodies such as AIPS increasingly focus on mentorship, training and transnational networking, reflecting a recognition that institutional frameworks must evolve alongside the rapidly changing digital media environment. Events marking International Women’s Day have thus become not only symbolic commemorations but also strategic forums for shaping the future direction of sports media worldwide.