Women at Work: journalism as en-gendered practice

Abstract This paper explores the salience of gender in the working lives of women journalists. It draws on data from a small-scale postal survey of members of a British network of women journalists—Women in Journalism—conducted in 1999 and suggests that gender is important in the newsroom for some women but not others and that its impact is often felt in negative ways. Journalists pointed to some of the problems associated with working in an industry still dominated by men, such as the low priority given to coverage of "women's" issues and the male-ordered culture which can be hostile to women with family responsibilities. Most of the women surveyed believe that more women in decision-making positions would have a positive impact on developing a more women-friendly news agenda although there were significant ambiguities about the salience of gender in determining a specifically en-gendered journalistic practice. Keywords: Women JournalistsHarassmentDecision MakingCareer BreaksMale Culture