A practical and comprehensive guideline is urgently needed to ensure equal rights, opportunities, participation, and fair representation of persons with disabilities and gender-diverse individuals in the media, speakers said at a day-long workshop in Dhaka on Saturday.
The event, titled “Advancing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in Media: Policy and Editorial Practices,” was organized by rights-based research organization VOICE at the YWCA Auditorium in Mohammadpur. The workshop marked the first step toward formulating a national-level guideline to promote inclusive editorial and newsroom practices.
Editors, reporters, newsroom professionals, human resource representatives, and journalist association members took part in the workshop. They received orientation on disability and gender diversity, existing barriers to participation in the media industry, and practical strategies for making newsrooms more inclusive. Participants also held detailed discussions on developing an overarching policy to advance diversity, equality, and inclusion across media houses.
VOICE Executive Director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud underscored the absence of institutional policies in most news organizations.
“Most news organizations still do not have clear policies regarding disability and gender diversity,” he said. “As a result, diversity and inclusion are not adequately reflected in news presentation, recruitment, workplace environment, and decision-making processes.”
He added that the final policy would be developed based on the insights and experiences shared during the workshop, ultimately becoming “a practical and supportive document for media professionals.”
Priyata Tripura, Program Officer at VOICE, highlighted the transformative potential of inclusive media narratives.
“The media is the mirror of society. What is reflected here influences society,” she said. “Portraying positive stories of persons with disabilities and gender-diverse individuals will help eliminate widespread misconceptions.”
Participants agreed that no sustainable development is possible without inclusion. They emphasized that meaningful representation of persons with disabilities and gender-diverse people in the media would help combat stereotypes, reduce discrimination, and foster a more equitable society.
Participants outlined several priority areas for the proposed media policy. These include ensuring fair and accurate representation of persons with disabilities and gender-diverse communities, developing accessible news platforms, and adopting inclusive recruitment and HR practices. They also highlighted the need for improved workplace environments, clear guidance on appropriate language use, stronger investigative and analytical reporting, robust digital safety measures, effective grievance-redress mechanisms, and the adoption of human-rights-based storytelling frameworks.
The workshop was facilitated by gender specialist Sanaiyya Fahim Ansari and development consultant Sayema Chowdhury.
Supported by UNESCO, VOICE is implementing the project “Enhancing Media Diversity through Gender and Disability Inclusion in Bangladesh,” which aims to develop a national policy to guide media professionals in promoting diversity, equality, and inclusion.
Representatives from a wide range of media outlets—including DBC News, IP News, The Daily Observer, Channel i, The Post, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard, Financial Express, The Daily Sky, Banglavision, Dhaka Post, and Daily Sangbad—participated actively in the workshop.
