In 2011, Tawakkol Karman became the first woman from the Arab world to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. The journalist gained international recognition as a leading figure of the Arab Spring. She founded the organization “Women Journalists Without Chains,” led protests against the authoritarian regime in her home country, and was imprisoned and persecuted for her activism. To this day, she stands for the conviction that democracy, freedom of speech, and the full societal participation of women are universal values. Tawakkol Karman will join the international EqualVoice Advisory Board starting in summer 2026.
As General Manager Europe Central at AWS, Chris Keller is responsible for business in over 30 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, he managed the country organizations in Switzerland and Austria as General Manager Switzerland & Austria. With his international leadership responsibility and his perspective on technology, scaling, and cultural change, he brings an additional strategic perspective to the National Advisory Board of EqualVoice.
Dr. Annabella Bassler, Group CFO of Ringier and initiator of EqualVoice: “Tawakkol Karman embodies exactly what EqualVoice stands for: conviction, courage, and the belief that visibility is a core democratic issue. And with Chris Keller, we are gaining a leader who shapes transformation and responsibility on a global scale. Both will greatly enrich our international work, both in terms of content and strategy.”
Measurable progress through changed editorial practices
At the heart of EqualVoice is the EqualVoice-Factor, a semantic algorithm that measures the presence of women and men in editorial content (text, audio, and video).
The evaluations of the EqualVoice-Factor for the second half of 2025 show that the initiative is having a measurable impact in Switzerland and internationally. Continuous measurement is effective and is changing editorial routines.
It is clear that visibility is less a matter of format and more a matter of editorial stance. Titles that consistently focus on proximity, relevance, and real-life connection not only achieve high content impact but also a more balanced presence of women and men. The EqualVoice-Factor thus makes visible how journalistic priorities are shifting—away from a pure information logic toward more meaning- and people-oriented storytelling.
Switzerland: Significantly higher visibility – new benchmarks in 2025
In Switzerland, almost all titles of Ringier Media Switzerland were able to increase their teaser and body visibility in 2025 compared to 2024, both in print and online. The development at GaultMillau was particularly strong, with an online increase of 16.1 percentage points. The overall average of the Body Score is now 36.8 percent (print) and 33 percent (online), respectively. Schweizer LandLiebe sets a clear internal benchmark here with 52 percent (online).
New peaks are also being reached in headline visibility, the Teaser Score: Schweizer LandLiebe leads with a clear 66 percent, followed by GlücksPost print (49 percent), Beobachter (43 percent), and Schweizer Illustrierte (43 percent online / 39 percent print). The prominent placement of female voices is increasingly becoming an editorial standard. Blick has an online Teaser Score of 27 percent (print: 23 percent), thus remaining at a solid level.
International: Progress with clear differences
The EqualVoice-Factor is also showing an effect in international markets. Poland is performing particularly well: with an average Body Score of 50 percent, 52.3 percent in headlines, and 54.7 percent in images, the portfolio of Ringier Axel Springer Polska achieves a high, balanced level – especially in the health, lifestyle, and family sections.
Serbia is also in the top group with Teaser and Image Scores of around 55 percent each. In Slovakia, a good foundation has been established with solid average values, while at the same time showing recognizable potential for development. A consistent pattern is emerging across all markets: high EqualVoice scores are achieved where relevance is created through proximity, context, and identification.