About the Gender Balance Tracker
An AI-powered tool by WAN-IFRA Women in News to measure and improve gender representation in media content.
About WAN-IFRA
The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is the global organisation of the world's press. Their mission is to protect the rights of journalists and editors to operate independent news media.
Their network spans 3,000 news organisations, 60 media associations, 18,000 publications in 120 countries. They provide knowledge and services to innovate and thrive in the digital world.
About Women in News (WIN)
Founded in 2010 by WAN-IFRA to advance gender equality and inclusion in media. Active in 30+ countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Arab Region. Partnered with 1,200+ media organisations and industry stakeholders.
Core belief: inclusive newsrooms, boardrooms AND content are key to a more gender-equal media landscape. Leadership Accelerator programme: 1,500+ graduates since 2015, 67% career progression within 3 months. Supported by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Norway. Executive Director, Media Development: Melanie Walker.
"Ensuring gender balance in content is not just a moral responsibility but a financial one. Women are more likely to read content in which they see themselves reflected, and yet they are only seen, heard or read on average 25% of the time."
The Gender Balance Guide
WIN developed 'Amplifying Women's Voices: A Gender Balance Guide for Media' – a practical guide for newsrooms.
The Guide defines gender balance across 3 categories:
- Prominence of women in content
- Inclusion of women's voices and opinions
- Portrayal of women (stereotyping, framing)
Available in English, Arabic, Burmese, and Russian. The Gender Balance Tracker automates measurement of these categories using AI. Our 11 indicators (5 quantitative + 6 qualitative) map directly to the Guide's framework.
How the Tracker Works
Our analysis engine evaluates content across 11 key dimensions to provide a comprehensive view of gender representation.
Quantitative Indicators
- •Women as main characters
- •Women as sources
- •Women as authors
- •Mentions ratio
- •Expert vs non-expert sources
Qualitative Indicators
- •Role/agency analysis
- •Sentiment & framing
- •Stereotype detection
- •Cultural/institutional tone
- •Gender-neutral language suggestions
- •Loaded-phrase alerts
Gender Balance Score (0–100) provides a single actionable metric. Designed for journalists, editors, and newsroom leaders – not data scientists.
Ready to try it? Start analyzing your content.
Want to learn more about the methodology? Read the Gender Balance Guide.