Women Fill Journalism Classrooms, Yet Newsrooms Are Mostly Men

“I started my first journalism course in 2017. This was a time when two investigative reporters broke the news of the sexual allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and these two investigative reporters were female reporters. I thought to myself, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

Alyssa Vega was inspired by the investigative journalism of New York Times reporters Meghan Twohey and Jodi Kantor. Today, Vega is a journalism student at Boston University and a lifestyle, arts and entertainment beat reporter for The Belmont Citizen Herald. At BU, Vega has both male and female professors currently working in media, notably The Boston Globe, MSNBC and NPR, but class composition stands in stark contrast. In a journalism ethics course last semester, Vega shared the classroom with only two male students out of 30. That trend continued into the following semester when an in-depth reporting course was principally women and hosted only one male student.

Journalism classrooms are consistently dominated by female students, yet in 2018, the percentage of male workers in newsrooms was higher than that of the overall U.S. workforce. About six-in-ten newsroom employees (61%) are men, compared with 53% of all workers. Interestingly, the ratio of younger newsroom employees was about fifty-fifty. This may be because journalism classes at universities are more and more filled with women, or it could be these young women have not decided to have a family yet.

Dr. Ana de la Serna, communications professor at California State University Dominguez Hills, knows firsthand about the limitations a family can have on an international career in photojournalism. After working with the president of Mexico and traveling for extended periods, she was forced to choose between her photojournalism career and her family.

“There aren’t a lot of men who are willing to stay home and watch their children or do that part, so it is assumed as a woman, that is your responsibility. I am not trying to reinforce stereotypes, but it is just what I see” de la Serna said. “I think that’s why there are not that many women in the newsroom. It becomes incompatible to have a family and have this job that is so demanding.”

Women shouldering the labor of caretaking is common around the world, and in America. Acccording to Author Jessica Neuwirth, in her essay entitled “Unequal: A Global Perspective on Women Under the Law,” as recently as 2001 the United States Supreme Court upheld a ruling where children of mothers with U.S. citizenship were granted a lifetime right to U.S. citizenship, and children of fathers with U.S. citizenship (including GIs stationed overseas) must take legal steps, before turning 18, to claim legal citizenship.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor noted in her dissenting opinion on the ruling, “[T]he majority’s discussion may itself simply reflect the stereotype of male irresponsibility that is no more a basis for the validity of classification than are the stereotypes about ‘traditional’ behavior patterns of women.”

Vega is personally acquainted with the “traditional” behavior patterns expected of women. One of her proudest accomplishments is the graphic she created for an essay entitled “Rejecting My Family’s Mexican-American Traditions Pushed Me Toward a Higher Education.” Vega’s educational and professional pursuits challenge the traditional gender roles expected of her in her parents’ home.

Women in America began to formally push back on “traditional” behavior patterns decades ago. More than one hundred years ago women began taking steps to have their voices heard in the theater of American government by changing policy for voting rights and property ownership. Women’s suffrage challenged the legacy of coverture law that was imported from England during the founding of America. Nonetheless, its legacy continues to linger among many professions, including American news production.

Darlena Cunha is a professor of journalism at the University of Florida and is a freelance journalist for the New York Times, Washington Post and others. Cunha was hitting her stride in a career in television news production when she learned she was pregnant in 2008. Instead of dedicating all her time and energy to television news production, she gave some of herself to her family, as a wife and mother.

“My life would have been completely different if I had gotten pregnant at a different time,” Cunha said. “Journalism hours aren’t necessarily kind to family life if you are working outside the home. Either you are missing dinner or you are missing breakfast. You are just not there.”

After becoming a mother, Cunha stopped producing television news and began blogging for free. Her family saw struggle, but she found a way to earn her master’s degree and later become an adjunct professor at the University of Florida. In 2014, she started her freelance journalism career with a breakout essay about her financial struggles during the economic downturn of 2009. Today, as a parent of 11-year-old twin girls, she works from home as a professor, writer, editor, ghost writer and news producer.

“It took me a long time to pivot and create this new ladder for myself,” Cunha said. “I work 70 hours a week, but if anyone needs me, I’m on duty again [as a mother].”

Journalism is a poorly paid profession unless you are in a top tier position, which many women do not reach. There is a glass ceiling for women when it comes to promotions and pay raises. Women drop out of newsrooms to take care of their families or switch to more profitable careers. Women are going through college as journalism majors, but they are still not represented in higher-level news management positions.

Photojournalism is particularly competitive, and it is difficult to reach a level of notoriety that is highly profitable. This is especially true for women. Dr. de la Serna recalled the gender pay gap from her own experience as a photojournalist.

“There were four of us, the two males were getting paid a lot more than my coworker and I who were women,” Dr. de la Serna said. “We were all doing the same amount of work.”

Dr. de la Serna realized her career had plateaued when she decided to return to school for an advanced degree. She thought as a photojournalist she would only ever be paid as a technician rather than as a professional.

“I think that is why so many journalism majors go into public relations and doing other things. It is more stable, so it allows the opportunity to balance life and work,” Dr. de la Serna said.

For many women it may not be worth it to sacrifice time with their families to work in a low-paying field.

Still, young women are filling seats in journalism classes all over the country, despite the historically low rates of success for females in news production. Perhaps the recent report of equal numbers of male and female newsroom employees aged 18-29 is a forecast of newsrooms in the future.

Vega and students like her are the future of journalism. To her, storytelling is a big part of her life and she is excited to make it her work. She has always been curious about people, what they do and why they do it. She is proud to be a journalist and considers it a privilege to tell the untold stories of the world. With more women like her in today’s journalism classrooms, maybe their voices will start to reflect broader conversations, shatter more glass ceilings and present a more inclusive future for the industry as well.