Shaping the Narrative: Strengthening Gender-Responsive Migration Reporting in Ethiopia

Migration continues to offer a pathway for many Ethiopian women to pursue economic opportunities and personal growth abroad. Yet, for those who return home, the journey is often marked by significant challenges, including social stigma, economic marginalization, and discrimination. These experiences are frequently overlooked, as public narratives tend to focus on negative stereotypes rather than the resilience, contributions, and realities of migrant women.

Migrant women bring back valuable skills, knowledge, and resources that play a vital role in strengthening community resilience and fostering local development. However, their contributions remain underrepresented in media, while the hardships they may have endured across the migration cycle including labour rights violations, trafficking, and sexual and gender-based violence are often insufficiently reported.

Recognizing the critical role of the media in shaping migration narrative and public perception, UN Women is working to enhance more accurate, balanced, and gender-responsive reporting on migration. Through the Making Migration Safe for Women programme, UN Women supports journalists and media professionals to tell migration stories that reflect the lived experiences of migrant women with dignity, nuance, and responsibility based on gender-responsive and ethical reporting principles and guidelines.

From 22 to 24 April 2026, UN Women convened a three-day capacity-building training on Gender-responsive Communication and Media Reporting on Migration in Addis Ababa, bringing together 38 journalists, editors, producers, and communication experts from across Ethiopia. The training aimed to strengthen participants’ understanding of the gender dimensions of migration while building practical skills for ethical and gender-responsive reporting.

Participants engaged in interactive sessions covering migration concepts and trends, gender equality principles, and the role of media in creating awareness on safe and regular migration. The training also emphasized the importance of accurate terminology, trauma-informed storytelling, and the “do-no-harm” approach when reporting on migration issues. Discussions explored emerging challenges such as misinformation, disinformation, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in media production.

Building on previous training rounds and the online module “Stories that Move: Reporting on Gender and Migration,” the workshop encouraged participants to reflect on their own reporting practices and to develop more inclusive and evidence-based narratives. Through case studies, group discussions, and simulations, participants shared experiences and identified practical ways to improve gender-responsive migration reporting in Ethiopia.

To ensure sustained impact, the training was complemented by a one-month mentorship programme. This provided participants with continued technical support as they applied their learning in real-world reporting. The mentorship also created a platform for peer exchange and problem-solving, helping journalists navigate challenges in covering migration stories.

By the end of the mentorship period, participants were expected to produce at least one gender-responsive migration story or communication product. More broadly, the initiative has contributed to strengthening journalists’ and communication experts’ capacity to report in a gender-responsive and inclusive manner.

UN Women Ethiopia is implementing the Making Migration Safe for Women (MMS) programme from 2023 to 2026, with funding from the Federal Government of Germany. The programme aims to ensure that migration is safe, and orderly for women migrating from, into and through Ethiopia and that international norms and standards for protecting and promoting migrant women’s rights are strengthened.

To date, Making Migration Safe for Women (MMS) programme in Ethiopia has reached more than 80 journalists, editors, producers, and communication professionals through similar trainings. These efforts are contributing to a more gender-responsive media reporting; one that not only informs but also empowers, challenges stereotypes, and amplifies the voices of migrant women and returnees.