Yemisi Akinbobola
Associate Professor
Yemisi holds a PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from Birmingham City University. She is a Associate Professor and Research Degrees Coordinator for the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research. Her research interests are in African Feminism(s) and media in Africa, particularly the intersections of Women's Rights and Media, and Media and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda.
Biography
I am a leading voice on gender equality in and through media in Africa. My work, spanning research, media practice, and advocacy, has informed policy, shaped industry standards, and fostered global dialogue on the rights and representation of African women in media. I am an Associate Professor of Women’s Rights and Media Development, and Research Degrees Coordinator for the Department of Media and English at Birmingham City University (UK), where I supports doctoral education and interdisciplinary collaboration.
I also cofounded African Women in Media (AWiM), an international network driving structural change in media industries through research, capacity building, and policy engagement towards achieving gender equality and equity. Under my leadership, AWiM has grown into a global network of over 35,000 and has co-developed key frameworks such as the Kigali Declaration on the Elimination of Gender Violence in and through Media in Africa. I have been on key policy committees, including the UNESCO and African Union-led committee that wrote the Lusaka Declaration on Press Freedom in Africa. I am also on the Advisory Committee for Media20, an initiative that promotes journalism and information integrity within the G20 policy agenda. I was also on the UNESCO-led expert panel that reviewed Chapter J of the Beijing Declaration at Beijing+30.
My research centres on African feminisms, media representation, and journalism practice, focusing on the lived realities of women media professionals. I regularly delivers keynote talks at major academic and policy platforms, including various United Nations agencies, the African Union, and the International Association for Media and Communication Research.
As a former investigative journalist who received the CNN African Journalist Award, I created Her Media Diary, a podcast platform that amplifies African women’s voices in the media.
I am a board member at St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Academy, the second-largest Academy Trust in the UK, and a member of the International Panel on Social Progress. I previously served as Vice President of the Sustainable Journalism Partnership (Sweden), and on the advisory committee for the Global Media Congress (UAE) and the Africa Media Convention. In 2021, I was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Women.
Expertise
My research interest is in the intersection of women’s rights and media development in Africa. Specifically, my research contributes to scholarship in African Feminism(s), media development and journalism practice in Africa. In recent times, I have developed an interest in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and I have an emerging interest in AI in newsrooms, especially relating to African women journalists.
I have written book chapters and journal articles on the experiences of African women journalists and the representation of African women’s rights issues, including an upcoming chapter titled “Podcasting African Women: Lived Experiences and Empowerment”. Much of my research seeks to contribute to scholarly debate on African feminism(s), as did my journal article “Neoliberal Feminism in Africa”, which was also translated into Turkish.
My work on the lived experiences of African women journalists led me to cofound the international NGO African Women in Media which has a network of over 16,000 women worldwide. Its annual conference has run since 2017 with a global audience. I am currently writing a monograph and conducting research in Ethiopia, building on work I have done in Rwanda and across the continent.
Impact
My work at African Women in Media has taken me on an incredible journey, and on many occasions, I am at tables where I am either the only woman or the only one advocating for women. I have a global network of media practitioners, policymakers, activists, publishers, entrepreneurs and many more. I bring my experiences in all these environments into my teaching and research and also use these as outlets for my research to ensure real-world impact.
I have been able to support students with my experience and network and doing my best to ease their access to their professional growth. I contribute to BCU’s internationalisation strategy through this work.
Current Research
I am currently researching the barriers faced by Ethiopian Women Journalists. This is in partnership with Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University, and the Ethiopian Media Women Association, as well as writing a book.
It builds on a similar research project in Rwanda. It was a privilege to have led the research in Rwanda that subsequently led to the development of an anti-sexual harassment committee and policy for media in Rwanda. Both projects followed a continental research report I did on the same topic. And, of course, the adoption of the Kigali Declaration on the Elimination of Gender Violence in and through Media in Africa, by a room of 250 journalists, academics, and policymakers, was a significant achievement that I look forward to building on.