EMPOWERING WOMEN’S VOICES IN THE MEDIA

Do you know that around 80 per cent of expert voices in the media are male? And about 80 per cent of victim voices are female?

Our guide to empowering women to show up and step up, shows how we build credible, media-ready visibility that sounds like you and still stands up to scrutiny.

Key takeaways will be:

·      The need to build credible, evidence-backed visibility reflecting authenticity and withstanding journalistic scrutiny.

·      Understanding that women’s voices are often filtered out due to biases in power structures and the fact that men tend to get the top jobs.

·      Developing a clear public narrative by linking specific lived experiences to measurable outcomes and a definitive stance when possible.

·      Preparing for media interactions by setting clear boundaries, knowing your evidence, and practicing confident, genuine responses to questions.

Why women’s voices can get filtered out in the media:

You pitch a strong story, you’ve got results, and you can explain the impact in one sentence, yet the headline quote goes to someone who is male.

One big issue is power and seniority. Women make up a large part of the PR workforce, yet leadership still skews towards men in many markets as does decision making. That affects everything from who gets put forward for expert comment to who is labelled ‘credible’ when a journalist needs a fast quote.

Another filter is format bias. Broadcast interviews, panel debates, and high-pressure Q&As can reward those who are confident and willing to argue. If your natural style is measured, careful, or evidence-led, you can get misread as ‘less punchy’ even when you’re more accurate. We see this a lot with founders and specialists who refuse to oversimplify and sorry, you do need to do this at first to get an opportunity to put more ‘meat on the bone’ later.

Then there’s the likeability trap. Women still get judged on tone in a way men often don’t: too direct becomes can be seen as ‘difficul’ and  too warm becomes ‘too soft’. A practical way through is to set a clear intent before any media interaction: What doyou  want the audience to understand, feel, and do?

Journalism-led PR widens the lens for women in business or in the third sector because it treats operational insight, lived experience, and public value as legitimate story hooks.

What does authentic PR really mean?

One way to remember it is ‘proof, personality, purpose’. Proof includes numbers, outcomes, and real-world examples. Personality means plain language which is your language, a consistent point of view, and boundaries around what you will and won’t say. Purpose links your visibility to a business, personal or organisational goal, such as better leads, stronger partnerships, recruitment, policy influence, or community trust.

What it isn’t:

It isn’t hype – if a claim can’t survive a follow-up question such as ‘how do you know?’ or ‘where’s the proof?’ it will backfire.

It isn’t copying someone else’s voice – you must be yourself, and if you ‘borrow’ a style that doesn’t fit, everyone will know and they might not tell you at first.

How do you get media ready?

Nothing dents confidence like an interview that leaves you thinking, ‘Why did I say that?’.

Media readiness isn’t about becoming fearless: it’s about reducing avoidable risk so you can show up as yourself. Therefore try this approach:

Proof: facts, figures, surveys, lived experience. Be confident around this. Think of two or three key points you might want to make here.

Be clear about the claims you can evidence; the claim you believe yet cannot prove; the claim you should not make in public (because it’s confidential, regulated, or not settled).

With the latter if you want to share something with a journalist you can ask them to keep it ‘off the record’ and for that to be binding THEY HAVE TO AGREE VERBALLY OR IN WRITING THAT THEY WILL ABIDE BY THIS. If you don’t get that acceptance then it’s not bindng. They may also say that it’s in the public interest so they cannot hide it or talk about it – and you can’t argue with that. So be very careful here.

Boundaries: decide what is off-limits for you. A good media agency will help you work this out and keep you on track. If they don’t then move along.

A boundary could be talking about leadership lessons but not naming the employer or the individual.

Confidence: practise the hard 20 seconds if the subject could be controversial or confrontational. A media partner with journalistic skills will be able to help with this. Record yourself as well so you can listen back and consider how it sounds. This will feel uncomfortable and will help when the camera or recording rolls.

One little tip for women who wish to be more visible.

Watch for stereotype language in your own language, even written comments or answers.

Stereotypes often creep in through words which soften the impact, often quite unnecessarily like ‘just’ or ‘a bit’ or I’m no expert but… “just”, “a bit”, “I’m no expert but…”. Men tend not to do this.

Conclusion

If we want women to be heard in 2026, we need more self-promotion – in the right way. We need a clear narrative, proof-led messages, and visibility choices that fit real lives and businesses.

Is PR suitable for every woman or business?

PR isn’t right for everyone; success requires time, budget, and clear goals. We offer a planning session power hour to get you stated with no further obligation. Find out more by emailing