In 2021, the Earth Journalism Network (EJN), Internews’ environmental media programme and a community of over 14,000 journalists from around the world, carried out a pilot study – Where are the Women? – on women and girls’ voices in environmental reporting . It found that many journalists are aware of the importance of gender inclusion, but still do not sufficiently include women’s voices. They cited several reasons, such as women are often seen as “less credible” sources than men and that many journalists also have trouble gaining access to women and girls sources, particularly in rural areas due to cultural and social barriers. Although this study mainly focuses on four countries — Pakistan, India, Indonesia and the Philippines — some journalists inSoutheast Asia, including theMekong region, were also interviewed. They shared a similar experience of gender inequality in media reporting. The study points out several opportunities to improve gender equality in media reporting, including providing reporters and editors training in gender sensitivity and awareness, demonstrating the value of including women in environmental stories and encouraging reporters to seek outwomen sources. The study also found that reporters who joined gender inclusive reporting trainings tend to have a better understanding of gender issues and are more likely to include women’s voices in news reports. Considering the increasing vulnerabilities experienced by women and other marginalised groups, such as youth and the poor,because of Mekong water governance issues, Internews Europe (Internews) proposes a project titled “Reporting on the Mekong water governance from a gender and social inclusive lens” which aims to strengthen women’s and marginalised people’s voices in media reports on water governance in the Mekong River basin. The projectis comprised of two main activities: 1) a three-day media workshop for 15 Mekong journalists to build knowledge and skills in reporting on Mekong water governance through a gender and social inclusive lens . The workshop will also facilitate cross-border networking and collaborations among journalists and stakeholders from different Mekong countries. 2) a story grant and mentorship program, which provides small grants to each participating journalist to cover the travel and production costs to develop inclusive stories relating to water governance in the Mekong region that amplify the voices of women and marginalised groups, under the support of mentors who are experienced journalists. Cross-border collaborative reporting will be encouraged. This proposed project will leverage Internews’ ongoing Sida-funded EJN Asia-Pacific project that works to build the capacity of individual journalists, media outlets andjournalism networks to report on the environment, and to bring evidence-based news and information to the most vulnerable communities at risk of negative environmental impacts. It will also benefit from the wide network of Mekong journalists Internews has cultivated over the years and the Mekong Eye platform that distributes environmental news on the Mekong region.