Eleven women who participated in the inaugural Bettina Fund - Women in Media Leadership programme say it will transform their careers as they have gained confidence to own their career development paths.
The three-month programme launched in Kenya in September 2021 aims to help women working in the media overcome barriers in newsrooms and navigate an industry that remains dominated by men.
This is achieved through one to one weekly sessions with mentors and a series of webinars with high profile female media managers, entrepreneurs and senior journalists.
I have grown my net-worth, says course participant, Hellen Shikanda, Health and Science Reporter, Nation Media Group. Now, I believe that leaders can be shaped. I have realised sometimes it takes close interaction with a leader to be one.
Diverse recruitment The women participating in the programmes were drawn from different areas of Kenyan media; the traditional legacy platforms of print and broadcast to digital start-ups.
The virtual nature of this programme caused by restrictions due to the pandemic benefitted journalists based outside the capital Nairobi. Travel costs and time often prohibit people travelling for face-to-face training but because every activity had to be done online the foundation was able to recruit participants from across Kenya with all women enjoying access to the same benefits.
In their feedback on the programme, mentees say the weekly sessions with mentors- all distinguished Kenyan women in the media - increased their confidence through improving personal skills and developing leadership competencies.
The webinars and mentor sessions provided a safe space for them to discuss openly their ambitions and provided guidance on how to overcome challenges in the workplace and as media entrepreneurs.
The mentees also completed bespoke e-learning courses developed by the Thomson Foundation.
Networking The programme ticks all the boxes of a programme designed to better equip young journalists with the nitty-gritty needed in their field of practice, says reporter and course participant Hellen Shikanda.
Ms Shikanda's mentor was Pamella Makotsi Sittoni, the first woman to hold the position of executive editor and managing editor of the Daily Nation at the Nation Media Group.
In 2017 she was named the Laureate of the Women in News Editorial Leadership Award for Sub-Saharan Africa by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA).
She emphasises the importance of mentoring female journalists as a way of bridging the gender gap in media organisations.
The only way to challenge the gender disparity in media leadership is by creating a pipeline of women journalists with the right skills to take up senior positions, says Ms Sittoni. Through the Bettina Fund mentorship, we hope our colleagues will take the lessons we learned and avoid our mistakes, to get to the top faster and better prepared.
Florence Chepkorir, a news editor from Nakuru - a city north west of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley; says the mentorship program enriched her professional network and taught her practical skills to advance her career. She now feels more confident to pursue opportunities in the media.
Getting to interact with other women journalists was awesome, she says. It helped me appreciate the fact that I am not the only one facing challenges specific to women in the newsroom. This has helped me put on a brave face, focus and endeavour to achieve the best in my career.
Empowering women in the workplace
The Bettina Fund has been set up by the Thomson Foundation in memory of its Director of Development Bettina Peters who died in 2020. Bettina was a tireless advocate for equality in the media. The aim is to empower women to take on senior roles in media organisations and build a sustainable network of women journalists and media professionals.
For the inaugural programme the foundation teamed up with the Baraza Media Lab, an initiative working to promote a strong and diverse media ecosystem from its collaborative space in Nairobi.
The aim is to extend the programme to include other countries in East Africa and replicate in other regions of the world.
The mentor and mentee relationship
-- Play
-- --
-- Play
-- --
-- Play
-- --
-- Play
-- --
Related content
The Bettina Fund: Empowering women in media
Women in Media: Confronting the confidence gap
When diversity in newsrooms and leadership is not enough
Berna Namata East Africa Programmes Manager
Berna is Thomson Foundations East Africa Programmes Manager. Her main role is in the business development and promotion of our e-learning platform, Journalism Now.
Explore our projects across the globe
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
15/03/2026
Visit ToolsOnAir at NAB Las Vegas 2026
More Details:From April 19-22, join us at NAB Show Las Vegas in the North Hall, Booth N1258, for an exclusive preview of...
15/03/2026
Latest dark drama, thrillers & tension library announced
The Very Loud Indeed Co.'s latest Kontakt library has just arrived, delivering a third instalme...
14/03/2026
Combines mic, USB interface & wireless IEMs
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, HISONG have announced that their innovative AirStudio S1 device is ...
13/03/2026
Spotify has always been built around your taste. More than 80% of listeners say personalization is what they love most about us. Now we're taking that even ...
13/03/2026
The new Spotify Legends Club has opened its doors. Its members: select German-sp...
13/03/2026
Pushing drum sampler technology into new territories
The latest version of Klevgrand's software drum sampler has just arrived, boasting a newly designe...
13/03/2026
Expanded headphone support & engine improvements
IK Multimedia's recently introduced ARC On-Ear system brings the power of their monitoring-correction s...
13/03/2026
Extra sound collections, more presets & new Keys category
UVI's rhythm and pattern instrument has just received a major update that introduces four new ...
13/03/2026
13 Mar 2026
VEON Delivers Record Digital Growth: 4Q25 Digital Revenues Grow 84%...
13/03/2026
Friday 13 March 2026
Sky Adds Blood on Snow to Original Film Slate in Acquisiti...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
Eleven women who participated in the inaugural Bettina Fund - Women in Media Leadership programme say it will transform their careers as they have gained confidence to own their career development paths.
