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
Most recent headlines
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 ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
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.
