Creating an Inclusive Space for Writers

Writers should be paid for the quality of their ideas — not the attention they attract for advertisers. That’s why “anyone” can join the Medium Partner Program and earn money when Medium members read their stories. - Medium

This is an excerpt from the Medium Partner Program’s onboarding page. First, let’s understand what this program is all about, then we’ll dive into the flaws around this model and explore how Medium can create a more inclusive space for writers globally.

What it is

Medium, as we know it, is a free platform for content creation and writing. As a user, you can register and start creating content for free. The Medium Partner Program, however, pushes this further. This program allows writers (of any category) to create, publish, and earn from the content they create.

If you’re wondering how to get into the program, it’s pretty straightforward. You’d head over to the program registration page, find the link to join the program, agree to the terms, and set up payments.

Payments

To receive payments, You’d need to set up a Stripe Express account. Even though you’d expect this page would contain multiple payment options, it doesn’t. There’s just Stripe. Well, that isn’t too much of a problem, unless you’re from Africa (and other regions where Stripe isn’t supported).

Unless you’re from Africa (and other regions where Stripe isn’t supported)

You’d notice from the screenshot above that not a single country in Africa has support for Stripe. This is bad considering there’s a huge percentage of writers (on medium) who are from these regions. I am from Nigeria as such not eligible to earn on medium until Stripe is supported in my country. Great.

I understand that Stripe may be working hard to expand support to as many regions as they can, but let’s be realistic—we don’t know how long that’ll take or what the dynamics will be when it does happen. For instance, I stumbled upon an article about how Stripe “quietly” added India to the list of supported countries. While this might have given a tiny bit of hope, reading through the details made it clear that the terms surrounding the payments aren’t exactly transparent. That’s a discussion for another day, but it highlights the uncertainty and lack of clarity for writers in unsupported regions.

Never mind.

The Impact of Exclusion

This lack of inclusivity has real consequences. As a writer from Nigeria, I was recently contacted by Manning Books Publications about an opportunity to publish a book on their platform. It was an exciting prospect, but the reality of not being able to monetize my work on Medium due to Stripe’s limitations dampened my enthusiasm. Many writers like me are left in a frustrating position—able to create and share content but unable to fully participate in the platform’s earning potential.

The Medium Partner Program’s current model creates a closed group of writers who can monetize their work, while others are left out due to geographic and infrastructural barriers. This isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a matter of fairness and equity in the creator economy. Medium’s mission is to deepen the collective wisdom of the world through personal expression, knowledge-sharing, and storytelling. But how can it achieve this mission if a significant portion of the global writing community is excluded from its monetization program?

A Call for True Inclusivity

Coming back to this:

Writers should be paid for the quality of their ideas — not the attention they attract for advertisers. That’s why “anyone” can join the Medium Partner Program and earn money when Medium members read their stories.

Not just "anyone" can join the program. The Medium Partner Program is not yet an inclusive space. And until Medium can admit this to themselves first, it will remain accessible only to a closed group of writers. To create a truly inclusive space, it needs to address these barriers head-on. Here are a few suggestions:

• Expand Payment Options: Exploring alternative payment processors that support more regions, especially in Africa and other underserved areas. For example, partnering with local payment providers or offering cryptocurrency payouts could be a viable solution.
• Transparent Communication: Medium should be more transparent about its plans to expand Stripe support or introduce alternative payment methods. Writers deserve clarity on timelines and progress.
• Support for Non-Monetized Writers: While waiting for payment solutions, Medium could offer other forms of support to writers in unsupported regions, such as access to premium features, mentorship programs, or opportunities to collaborate with publishers like Manning Books.

If this partnership with Stripe is limiting them from adding other payment solutions, then they might want to rethink this relationship and consider the effect it has on their users. As much as we might want to think this is a medium problem, we do not exactly know the dynamics around their partnership with Stripe and how it limits them.

Here’s a read that might interest you.

Let’s hope Medium takes steps to create a more inclusive space for writers—because the world deserves to hear from voices that are currently being left out.

☕