Durban - There has been progress for women in media but not nearly enough, said Tomas Brunegård, President of World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
Speaking at a dinner in Durban on the eve of the World News Media Congress, Brunegård said: "These gender-related issues are there and they need to be addressed."
WAN-IFRA represents more than 18,000 publications around the world and the conference starts on Wednesday through to Friday, and will focus on challenges facing the media landscape.
Sekunjalo Executive Chairman Dr Iqbal Survé further said that there needed to be greater representation in the media and a change in narrative about black people which was not negative.
"This perception needs to be changed," he said. "But it's a long journey."
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This will be only the second time the World News Media Congress has come to the African continent following the success of the Cape Town event in 2007, and is part of a broader plan to expand activities in Africa and to engage with people who are leading media transformation across the continent.
More than 1,000 publishers, chief editors, managing directors, CEOs and other senior news publishing executives are expected to attend the conference.