By NJOKI CHEGE More by this AuthorThis week, the New York Times (NYT) named Meredith Kopit Levien, as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO). Secondly, I think media need to be very serious about succession planning by intentionally placing women in strategic positions and priming them for that eventual pivot to the top. This succession planning saw Levien rise from head of advertising (2013) to executive vice president to chief revenue officer (2015), to chief operating officer (2017) and now to the chief executive officer (2020). We must also put in place policies to ensure equal pay for both men and women in media, not forgetting friendlier maternity (and paternity) leave policies for young women and their partners who are also be in the industry. The journey to achieving equality for women in media will be long and winding, but I will conclude with a befitting adaptation of Abraham Lincoln’s words: “I (We) walk slowly.

Source: Daily Nation July 24, 2020 21:08 UTC