By now, one of the most talked-about photos of the year is Carol Guzy’s shot of two girls clinging to their father while ICE agents drag him out of a New York courtroom. It won the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year award, which is the highest accolade in photojournalism, and it did so with little difficulty. A single frozen moment that captures a whole political era, the image is devastating in a way that only documentary photography can. The fact that Guzy shot it in a field where women made up only 22% of all entrants is something that is rarely discussed, almost like a footnote to the celebration. It’s worth pausing to consider that figure.
3,747 photographers from 141 countries submitted 57,376 images for the 2026 competition. That is a significant worldwide representation of the craft by all standards. Nevertheless, about one in five of those submissions were made by women and non-binary photographers. This has been described by World Press Photo as a “steady increase,” which is technically correct. The same 22% percentage only applied to women who identified as female in 2025, which may indicate a reclassification or marginal movement based on how the categories changed. It’s still unclear if the organization is using slightly different language to measure the same stagnation or if that needle is actually moving.
This issue is not brand-new, nor is it exclusive to World Press Photo. Eighty-five percent of photojournalists surveyed in a 2015 study by the organization, the University of Stirling, and Oxford’s Reuters Institute were men. Just 7% of staff photographers at big media companies were women, compared to 22% for men. More women said they made less than $10,000 a year. More men said they made more than $80,000. That study was conducted more than ten years ago. It doesn’t seem like the industry’s fundamental structure has changed enough to render it obsolete.
In photography circles, there is a belief that access is the true problem, not skill or desire, and most definitely not the caliber of the work being created. That is evident from the 2026 winners. Elise Blanchard documented how US aid cuts caused Afghanistan’s maternal healthcare system to collapse. Chantal Pinzi observed Moroccan women battling for the right to ride in Tbourida, a custom that had long excluded them. In Sweden, Sanna Sjöswärd spent a considerable amount of time providing palliative care for anorexia to a 46-year-old former dancer. These are not ancillary tales. These are some of the contest’s most complex and challenging projects. The women who created them were competing in an industry where their group is still statistically underrepresented.
The photographers who never entered, couldn’t afford the trip, weren’t commissioned in the first place, or live in areas where female photojournalists encounter physical and professional obstacles that their male counterparts don’t face, are more difficult to measure. Who entered is recorded in the contest data. It doesn’t explain who didn’t or why.
Kira Pollack, the jury chair, described this year’s competition as “a critical moment for democracy,” emphasizing truth and accountability. The 42 winners’ documentation of drone warfare in Ukraine, police killings in Rio, climate displacement in Mexico, and scam compounds in Myanmar supports this framing. It documents a world under constant strain. However, a significant portion of the record was created by men. The work that was acknowledged is not diminished by the 22% figure. It begs the question of how many years it will take to find out what a more complete picture might look like if the field were truly balanced.
FAQs
Q1: What percentage of World Press Photo 2026 entrants were women and non-binary?
Women and non-binary photographers combined made up just 22% of all entrants.
Q2: Who won the World Press Photo of the Year in 2026?
Carol Guzy won for Separated by ICE, shot at a New York courthouse.
Q3: How many photographs were submitted to the 2026 contest in total?
57,376 photographs were submitted by 3,747 photographers across 141 countries.
Q4: Has the gender gap in photojournalism always existed?
A 2015 industry study found men already made up 85% of photojournalists surveyed.
Q5: What is the main barrier keeping women underrepresented in the contest?
Access — funding, commissions, and regional safety barriers — not talent or ambition.
