This International Women’s Day arrives with an urgent question: In a world drowning in misinformation about women’s health, rights, and potential, how do we cut through the noise?
The answer isn’t more facts. It’s better stories.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme — “Give to Gain” — captures something fundamental about how social change actually works. Real transformation isn’t top-down. It’s reciprocal.
At PMC, we give stories. Genuine narratives co-created with communities. Stories that amplify voices. Stories that position women’s agency as non-negotiable.
The beautiful truth about entertainment-education is this: when we invest in women’s agency through storytelling, we all gain. Individual behavior changes, community resilience, cultural transformation, narrative change.
The fight for women’s rights is now a fight over story.
We gain a world where girls have the right to education. Where women access reproductive healthcare because their autonomy matters. Where gender-based violence decreases because communities reject the narratives that normalized it. Where mothers survive childbirth because stories made their health impossible to ignore. Below, you’ll find the evidence — program by program, country by country, voice by voice.
When stories show girls in school and thriving, communities begin to imagine that future as possible for their own daughters.
When stories shift the conversation to empowerment and agency, women recognize their right to decide and their right to reproductive healthcare on their own terms.
When communities stop seeing gender-based violence as inevitable, they can reject the normalization of this violence and rewrite the narratives.
The most powerful outcome isn’t a statistic but a shifting narrative that lives in the hearts and minds of entire communities.
BARNUSIETEHDEH! (“Let’s Do The Right Thing”), was part of a multifaceted initiative that included a 36-episode talk show, online campaigns, and 17 participatory theater events. These interactive performances created dynamic spaces for communities to engage deeply with the show’s themes and drive local conversations.
What if one story could help a whole community talk about what’s been left unsaid? Kasensa Kabuumi (“Fountain of Life”), is a bold, four-part radio miniseries tackling HIV, family planning, and gender-based violence through storytelling. Told through powerful characters and supported by live forums, talk shows, and community events, the series helped listeners see their lives in a new light. See how Kasensa Kabuumi became more than just a radio—it became a movement.
Papás Por Conveniencia (“Conveniently a Family”) was a celebration of storytelling for social change. Population Media Center (PMC) partnered with TelevisaUnivision to deliver this successful fusion of entertainment and impactful messaging. Produced by renowned showrunner Rosy Ocampo, the telenovela explored critical social issues facing Hispanic teens, including teenage pregnancy, sexual and gender-based violence, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
