Journalism is a vital cog in the machine of our society – it affects how we perceive the world around us and reflects our thoughts and feelings about current events. This is why it is important that we have diversity in the journalism field to ensure that perspectives of underrepresented groups are shared. This month is International Women’s Month, a time when we explore the powerful role women play in society, so let’s explore the complexities and importance of women in journalism.
Women have been working as journalists ever since newspapers could be printed. Though not always given credit, they have always made an impact on the news. While female journalists were historically given “less important” assignments, women began to break through in the field during the later 1800s, gaining bigger audiences, obtaining more important roles, and covering more pivotal stories, especially in investigative journalism. Despite discrimination, women have become increasingly prominent in journalism over the decades, solidifying their roles as writers, managers, reporters, and editors.
In the last century, especially, women have continued to fill roles across more journalistic beats, such as sports, politics, investigative reporting, environmental reporting, and entertainment. The U.S saw its first female news anchor in 1946, a pivotal moment in journalistic and TV history. The 1900s also brought a rise in female overseas correspondents, reporting on foreign war topics during WWI and WWII. Over the more recent decades, female writers and reporters most commonly work on specialized beats, like social issues (especially systemic injustices), health topics, and education. It is overall more likely for women to cover these important topics and represent marginalized communities than male reporters. In fact, women cover 64% of health stories, 63% of education stories, and 58% of stories surrounding social issues in the news. being conducted by women. Women’s growing presence in journalism has shifted the way newsrooms operate, especially as they continue to occupy major editorial and managing roles, with roughly 38% of leadership roles in newsrooms being held by women in the United States and 27% globally.
Even though women continuously prove to be of equal importance to men in journalism, there are still countless gender-based disparities in the field. It is exponentially harder for women to land editorial roles, even though women make up the majority (60-70%) of graduates in journalistic degrees. In the field, there is a pronounced pay gap between male and female journalists, with women making roughly 80% of what men make. It is evident that the more influential a role a woman holds in a journalistic career, the bigger the pay gaps get between them and their male colleagues. Women are also far more subject to censorship or underestimation in the media, with female voices and stories being severely underrepresented. It is more common for women to be assigned “soft” beats, like lifestyle and social news, while men are more likely to be assigned “hard” topics like international news, economics, and politics.
Despite years of discrimination, women have persevered in this field, making sure their perspectives are seen and that stories from women and other underrepresented groups are heard. The feminine influence in media does not just apply to writing, reporting, and editing, either. There are countless women behind the scenes of all media that we see, working in production, design, direction, etc. It is important that we know their titles, respect their expertise, and acknowledge the disparities they face so we can further support them and contribute to the rise in female voices in the media. This International Women’s Month, make it a goal to appreciate the role of women in every career field, as they continue to pioneer the path for generations of women to come.
Reviewed and Edited by Kien Powell