The Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmental Organ­isation, in collaboration with the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Gha­na, has successfully conducted the national monitoring exercise for the 2025 Global Media Monitor­ing Project (GMMP).The GMMP is the world's largest and longest-running inter­national study focused on gender representation in news media and was initiated in 1995 by the World Association for Christian Commu­nication (WACC).It is to also evaluate the pres­ence and portrayal of women and men in news stories; Identify gender biases and stereotypes within media content and advo­cate for gender equality in media representation.A team of about 15 comprising lecturers, students, volunteers from the university of Ghana and WOMEC staff took part in the media monitoring.A press statement issued in Ac­cra on Monday and signed by the Executive Director of WOMEC, Dr Charity Binka, indicated that the impactful partnership brought together the strengths of civil society and academia to contribute to the world's largest and most enduring research initiative on gender representation in the news media.The rationale for a one-day study of the representation and portrayal of women and men in the world's news media was first conceived at the international con­ference on Women Empowering Communication in Bangkok in 1994.The Beijing Platform for Action's Section J.

remains the touchstone for the GMMP.WOMEC, a Ghanaian not-for- profit organsation, which seeks to use the media as an advocacy tool in advancing the cause of women has been coordinating the GMMP in Ghana since 2005."By bringing together civil soci­ety expertise and academic rigor, we are not only enriching the Global Media Monitoring Project process but also nurturing the next generation of media profes­sionals to champion gender equal­ity in and through the media," Dr Binka explained.The Head of the Department of Communications, Professor Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin, added that, "partnering with WOMEC to monitor the media on the Global Media Monitoring Project was an important mile­stone for the Department because of the opportunity to contribute toward deepening our understand­ing of the gendered trends in the Ghanaian media."The local coalition's work aims to provide more current insights to guide interventions towards improving the situation.The 2025 GMMP comes at a critical moment as the world reflects on 30 years of commit­ments under the Beijing Platform for Action. BY TIMES REPORTER