200 women speakers you need at your next journalism event to avoid all-male panels

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There's no good reason for there to be all-male panels - AKA "manels" - at media events. There are so many inspiring, amazing and talented women in our industry that deserve the stage time.

While women have been vocal on this issue for some time, men are adding their voices to the protest too, with popular speakers vowing not to sit on or moderate panels that are not diverse enough.

I had no idea women weren’t involved in the future of journalism! Didn’t get the memo https://t.co/ifYjq655l9

— Sophia Smith Galer (@sophiasgaler) October 3, 2023

2024 must be the year we relegate all-male panels to the Mad Men era where they belong.

To help with this (long-overdue) task, below is a list of women and non-binary journalists, editors, and executives who are among the best in their field – and would be brilliant speakers for your next media event.

We carefully curated this list with input from our communities across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, plus some of the many conferences attended (and organised) by the Journalism.co.uk team. You will also find stellar guests from the Journalism.co.uk podcast here as well.

This list is by no means exhaustive. If there is anyone you think we have missed and would like us to add them to the list, do let us know by tweeting @journalismnews.

And because diversity is not just about gender, we have recommended more resources at the end of this article for building inclusive events where everybody's voice is made to feel welcome.

Editors and executives (52)

Jo Adetunji, editor, The Conversation UK | UK

Heba Aly, coordinator, UN Charter Reform Coalition | Switzerland

Jane Barrett, global editor, media news strategy, Reuters | UK

Katherine Bell, editor-in-chief, Goldman Sachs | USA

Rozina Breen, editor-in-chief and CEO, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism | UK

Joanne Butcher, chief executive, NCTJ | UK

Sally Buzbee, executive editor, Washington Post | USA

Frances Cairncross, author of "The Cairncross Review: a sustainable future for journalism" | UK

Gina Chua, executive editor, Semafor | USA

Audrey Cooper, editor-in-chief, WNYC | USA

Angela Dewan, international climate editor, CNN | UK

Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, deputy editor-in-chief, Süddeutsche Zeitung | Germany

Alessandra Galloni, editor-in-chief, Reuters | UK

Janine Gibson, editor, FT Weekend | UK

Alison Gow, leadership coach and mentor | UK

Cory Haik, chief operating officer, Vice Media | USA

Liv Håker, head of digital development, Sunnmørsposten | Norway

Blathnaid Healy, executive news editor, growth and social, BBC News | UK

Charo Henríquez, editor, newsroom development and support, The New York Times | USA

Liz Heron, independent strategic adviser; board of directors, Coda Story | USA

Stacy-Marie Ishmael, managing editor, crypto, Bloomberg News | USA

S. Mitra Kalita, co-founder, URL Media | USA

Sara Kehaulani Goo, editor-in-chief, Axios | USA

Lexie Kirkconnel-Kawana, CEO, IMPRESS | UK

Roula Khalaf, editor, Financial Times | UK

Angie Lau, co-founder, editor-in-chief, Forkast.News | Hong Kong

Amy Lewin, editor, Sifted | UK

Sara Lomax-Reese, president and CEO, WURD Radio | USA

Nathalie Malinarich, executive news editor, BBC News | UK

Eleanor Mills, founder, Noon | UK

Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief, The Economist | UK

Preethi Nallu, executive director, Report for the World | Spain

Amy O'Leary, managing director and communications, One Project | USA

Tobi Oredein, founder and CEO, Black Ballad | UK

Naomi Owusu, CEO, Tickaroo | Germany

Julie Pace, executive editor, Associated Press | USA

Allison Phillips, freelance journalist and former chair, Women In Journalism | UK

Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO, The 19th News | USA

Maria Ressa, CEO, Rappler | The Philippines

Catherine Salmond, editor, The Herald | UK

Claire Sanderson, editor-in-chief, Women's Health | UK

Emily Sexton-Brown, managing editor, Business Insider | UK

Daryna Shevchenko, CEO, Kyiv Independent | Ukraine

Elizabeth Stephens, executive editor, Columbia Missourian | USA

Gillian Tett, chair, FT Editorial Board; co-founder FT Moral Money | USA

Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief, Wall Street Journal | USA

Deborah Turness, CEO, BBC News and Current Affairs | UK

Katie Vanneck-Smith, CEO, Hearst | UK

Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian | UK

Mary Walter-Brown, founder and CEO, News Revenue Hub | USA

Janine Warner, co-founder and executive director, Sembra Media | USA

Yehong Zhu, founder and CEO, Zette | USA

Emerging media, multimedia, mobile and future tech (20)

Nadine Ajaka, executive producer, visual forensics, Washington Post | USA

Sarah Cohen, knight chair in data journalism, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University | USA

Sarah Ebner, executive editor and head of newsletters, FT | UK

Alex Newman, senior editor for interactives, FiveThirtyEight | USA

Daniela MacArena, founder, Ac2ality | Spain

Alexandra Manzano, managing editor, content, strategy and platforms, Politico | USA

Sumaiya Omar, founder, Seen (formerly Hashtag our Stories) | UK

Nimo Omer, assistant editor, First Edition newsletter, Guardian | UK

Mari-Sanna Paukkeri, CEO and co-founder, Utopia Analytics | Finland

Nonny de la Peña, founder and CEO of Emblematic Group | USA

Latoya Peterson, co-founder, CXO, Glow Up Games | USA

Corinne Podger, manager, Walkley Foundation | Australia

Lauren Rabaino, chief operating officer, Vox | USA

Bianca-Maria Rathay, freelance iPhone videographer | Germany

Mary-Ann Russon, freelance tech and science journalist | UK

Caroline Scott, content creation specialist, LumaFusion | USA

Farrah Storr, head of writer partnerships, Substack UK | UK

Sarah Tuttle-Singer, new media editor, The Times of Israel blog | Israel

Amy Webb, CEO and founder, The Future Today Institute | USA

Carla Zanoni, media consultant and freelance journalist | USA

Social media and video (22)

Waad Al-Kateab, filmmaker, Channel 4 | UK

Emma Bentley, multimedia producer and analyst, EBRD | UK

Malika Bilal, host of The Take, al Jazeera | USA

Deborah Bonello, investigator and editor, Southern Pulse | Mexico

Gloria Cheung, producer, Bloomberg | UK

Kassy Cho, journalist and audience strategist | Taiwan

Shivani Dave, freelance presenter, Virgin Radio UK | UK

Ann Derry, independent executive producer | USA

Barkha Dutt, editor, Mojo | India

Sian Elvin, news editor, The Independent | UK

Joanna Geary, head of content and audience, news product, Bloomberg | UK

Sue Llewellyn, social media coach and consultant; founder and CEO, Ultra Social | UK

Erika Marzano, audience development manager, Deutsche Welle | Germany

Tara Mulholland, senior social media journalist CNN International | UK

Monika Plaha, journalist and presenter, BBC News | UK

Hannah Ray, managing editor, Substack | UK

Rachel Rodriguez, GenAI content manager, Meta | UK

Chandni Sembhi, music social producer, MTV | UK

Amy Simons, professor, Missouri School of Journalism | USA

Sophia Smith Galer, freelance journalist and content creator | UK

Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent | UK

Hollie Wong, head of social media, GAY TIMES | UK

Audience engagement and analytics (28)

Avery Anapol, commissioning editor, the Conversation UK | UK

Melissa Bell, founder, Vox | USA

Jennifer Brandel, founder and CEO, Hearken | USA

Danuta Breguła, independent strategist | Poland

P. Kim Bui, director of audience innovation, AZ Central | USA

Loretta Chao, head of startup studio and local news innovation, American Journalism Project | USA

Kate Day, deputy editor-in-chief, Politico Europe | UK/Brussels

Sofia Delgado, audience growth director, Metro.co.uk | UK

Ethar El-Katatney, news product strategy lead, Bloomberg | USA/Egypt

Blair Hickman, audience and editorial strategist | USA

Luba Kassova, co-founder, AKAS | UK

Jo Kelly, global head of content strategy, innovation and product development, Twitter | UK

Adriana Lacy, independent consultant | USA

Denise Law, product manager, Meta | UK

Phillippa Law, head of community, The Telegraph | UK

Kathryn Lucchesi, assistant professor, Missouri School of Journalism | USA

Lisa Macleod, director, head of EMEA engagement, FT Strategies | UK

Sarah Marshall, global executive director, distribution and channel strategy, Condé Nast | UK

Irene McKisson, principal executive and co-founder, AZ Luminaria | USA

Jacqui Merrington, deputy commercial editorial director, Mail Metro Media | UK

Lisa Mitchell, director, editorial content, BFBS | UK

Amalie Nash, newsroom transformation initiative lead, INMA | USA

Jess Shaw, director of audience, San Francisco Chronicle | USA

Alexandra Smith, audience director, The 19th News | USA

Lucy Stamp, head of subscriptions and memberships, DC Thomson | UK

Tara Thorpe, deputy head of community, The Telegraph | UK

Madeleine White, editor-in-chief, The Audiencers; head of international, Poool | France

Amanda Zamora, co-founder, The 19th News | USA

Data and investigative journalism (20)

Andrea Backhaus, freelance war and conflict reporter | Lebanon/UK

Jane Bradley, UK Investigative correspondent, the New York Times | UK

Sanya Burgess, investigations correspondent, i | UK

Tamara Cherry, founder, Pickup Communications | Canada

Florencia Coelho, new media research and training manager, La Nación | Argentina

Eva Constantaras, data editor, Lighthouse Reports | Greece

Alex Crawford, special correspondent, Sky News | UK

Donna Ferguson, freelance journalist | UK

Gloria Dickie, climate and environment correspondent, Reuters | UK

Kathy Keily, Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies, Missouri School of Journalism | USA

Jennifer LaFleur, assistant professor, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism | USA

Katie McQue, freelance investigative journalist | USA

Claire Miller, data journalism and FOI expert | UK

Fiona O'Brien, UK bureau director, Reporters Without Borders | UK

Laxmi Parthasarathy, chief operating officer, Global Press | USA

Amy Pyle, national investigations editor, USA Today | USA

Angelica Peralta Ramos, data project manager, La Nación | Argentina

Giannina Segnini, journalism professor at Columbia University | USA

Lucy Siegle, freelance journalist | UK

Lam Thuy Vo, reporter, The Markup; associate professor, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism | USA

Podcasting and broadcast (22)

Vanessa Baffoe, presenter, Sky News | UK

Victoria Derbyshire, newsreader and presenter, BBC News | UK

Anna Doble, digital editor, BBC World Service | UK

Arielle Duhaime-Ross, freelance science journalist | USA

Vicky Etchells, head of news and factual podcasts, Global | UK

Ann Friedman, co-host of Call Your Girlfriend podcast | USA

Violet Gonda, freelance journalist | UK/Zimbabwe

Anya Grundmann, senior vice president for programming and audience development, NPR | USA

Catharine Hughes, podcast producer, The New Statesman | UK

Salla-Rosa Leinonen, producer, Yle | Finland

Theodora Louloudis, originals producer, Wondery | USA

Alison Millar, filmmaker | UK

Imriel Morgan, CEO, Content Is Queen | UK

Jeimmie Nevalga, news director, KOMU 8; associate professor, Missouri School of Journalism | USA

Nadia Reiman, editor, This American Life | USA

Kellie Riordan, director and founder, Deadset Studios | Australia

Janet Saidi, audio producer, KBIA public radio; assistant professor, Missouri School of Journalism | USA

Julie Shapiro, executive producer, Canadaland | USA

Laura Shin, host of Unchained podcast | USA

Sandra Sperber, senior audio editor, Spiegel Online | Germany

Kara Swisher, host of "On With Kara Swisher" podcast by New York Magazine | USA

Esther Kezia Thorpe, media analyst; co-host, Media Voices | UK

Annette Young, TV News presenter, host and creator, The 51 Percent, France 24 | France

Leadership, diversity and mental health (35)

Joyce Adeluwoye-Adams, editor, newsroom diversity, Reuters | UK

Nikki Akinola, senior diversity and inclusion officer, NCTJ | UK

Catalina Albeanu, digital editor, DoR | Romania

Charlotte Armitage, media psychologist and psychotherapist | UK

Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, director of undergraduate studies, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota | USA

Emily Bell, director, Tow Centre for Digital Journalism | USA

Mar Cabra, founder, The Self-Investigation | Spain

Federica Cherubini, director of leadership development, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism | UK

Madalina Ciobanu, independent media consultant and freelance project manager | UK

Olivia Crellin, CEO, Presspad | UK

Catherine Edwards, independent editorial consultant | UK

Jo Healy, founder and director, Trauma Work | UK

Jodie Jackson, founder, News Literacy Lab | UK

Olivia James, performance and confidence coach | UK

Sasha Koren, independent consultant, journalist and digital strategist | USA

Lucy Küng, independent strategic advisor | UK

Joy Mayer, director, Trusting News | USA

Una Murphy, co-founder, VIEW | UK

Naja Nielsen, digital director, BBC News | UK

Anne-Sophie Novel, independent journalist and author | France

Laura Oliver, co-founder, Society of Freelance Journalists; reporter, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism | UK

Niketa Patel, senior director, leadership programme, CUNY | USA

Julie Posetti, global director of research, International Center for Journalists | UK

Isabelle Roughol, independent media consultant | UK

Katerina Sergatskova, co-founder, 2402 Foundation | Ukraine

Dhruti Shah, independent consultant | UK

Maja Šimunjak, senior lecturer in journalism at Middlesex University | UK

Hannah Storm, co-founder, Headlines Network | UK

Inga Thordar, schief impact officer, Skating Panda | UK

Claire Wardle, co-founder and director, First Draft News | USA

Sisi Wei, editor-in-chief, The Markup | USA

Rebecca Whittington, online safety editor, Reach plc | UK

Sian Williams, psychologist and journalist | UK

Anita Zielina, CEO, Better Leaders Lab | USA/Austria

Zuzanna Ziomecka, executive program director, advanced leadership program, Center for Leadership | Poland

Other resources

• Non-white speakers for your next journalism event

• Poynter Diversity Bibliography

• Media Diversified: Experts Directory

• Journalism Diversity Project

Update: This article was updated by Jacob Granger and Marcela Kunova on 8 March 2024 to reflect changes in women's career history. The original version published on 7 June 2016

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