‘Naked Swimmers’: Chinese women journalists’ experience of media commercialization

In accordance with the global trend of women’s employment in journalism, China has witnessed an unprecedented increase in women’s participation in the news profession over the last two decades. However, while accounting for more than 40% of the labor force in journalism, women still tend to occupy roles with lower pay and less power. Against this background, this article tries to provide an insight into the obstacles in the path of the success of women journalists in Chinese media. Through in-depth interviews with the journalists, three major constraining mechanisms are identified: women-unfriendly job contracts and salary systems, weak women’s associations and trade unions, and the prevalence of a sexist newsroom culture.