Protection of women journalists and writers: a right and a guarantee for freedom of expression

May is a significant month for women journalists and writers and, therefore, for society as a whole. Its first day allows us to commemorate International Workers' Day around the world, opening a national and global discussion on how we have been advancing or regressing in terms of labor rights in every corner of the world. But this month also offers us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of journalism, the dissemination of ideas and thoughts and the value of democracy and pluralism, as May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day. Both anniversaries challenge us, as the World Association of Women Journalists and Writers, to act and raise our voices. Without ignoring the advances in labor rights, there is still, especially in less developed countries, a gender gap that has been unbridgeable and that affects women in terms of access to the labor market, lower salaries, fewer training opportunities, lack of national care policies that allow for comprehensive development, gender stereotypes and reduced female participation in management levels of companies, among others. To this, we can now add another gap, the digital divide, which once again has women among those who have less access to training and, therefore, are sentenced to be left on the sidelines of progress, This is a concern that should concern us and, not in vain, UN Women emphasized it by proposing the following slogan as the focus of the commemoration of the last 8M: "For an inclusive digital world: innovation and technology for gender equality". Also, as AMMPE World, we see with concern how working and safety conditions for journalists have been deteriorating in various parts of the world. In this context, we cannot but join the worldwide alert for the setback in freedom of expression and safety to counteract murders and attacks against press professionals. Once again, we would like to focus on a new flank that threatens and restricts the exercise of journalism and freedom of expression: digital harassment or cyberbullying, whose main victims are women journalists and writers. May proposes us capital issues to reflect on and it is our obligation, as a society, to become aware and take the necessary actions to guarantee women their rights and an integral development in safe and violence-free environments.

Elia Simeone R.
President
AMMPE World