The gig job market a concern for women in digital journalism
Women and women of colour in digital journalism face increased levels of precarious and hostile working environments. The rise in contract work in journalism has increased precarity for journalists and they worry how their reporting might jeopardize their employment, a Canadian research report from The Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto shows.
Nicole Cohen, associate professor at the University of Toronto and Shannon Clarke, PhD candidate at Queen’s University, studied women’s experiences in digital journalism. Recent research shows that journalism is dominated by journalists who identify as white (78%). Gender and racial diversity have increased in the field, particularly in junior roles.
Women journalists in the study described facing prejudices in their daily work.
“Journalists of colour reported that senior managers often expected them to cover topics related to their own ethnic groups, even though they did not wish to be confined to one set of stories.”
“Women journalists also encountered bias from managers, who assumed they would be “biased” in their reporting while men writing on similar topics were perceived as more “neutral.”
The report says these findings align with the idea that journalism is still predominantly a “boy’s club.”
“Participants also described facing precarity in employment, which hinders their freedom as journalists. As standard, stable employment decreases in availability, journalists take on more gigs and contract work.”
“This in turn affects the control that they have over their work, as they may be afraid to venture out and have full autonomy over the content of their story for fear of jeopardizing their work contracts.”
“In other words, precarity of employment impacts their freedom of expression to communicate their stories.”
“Participants in the study remarked that journalists of colour in particular often do not get full-time jobs and this affects how they can speak up and stand firm behind the ideas in their work.”
Both authors comment that there is no easy fix to address these issues.
“A solution may lie in hiring more people of colour and placing them in management roles. “
“There is also the growing trend of unionization among journalists, who are increasingly turning to collective bargaining as a means of securing justice and fair treatment in the workplace.”
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