The classroom boy to girl ratio I see everyday in the Stony Brook School of Journalism does not reflect the gender gap in the journalism world.
An article in Time Magazine written by Alexandra Sifferlin describes the results of a report from the Women’s Media Center that shows a significant gender gap in major news media.
According to the article, men have 63% of bylines in print, internet and wire news media. The Huffington Post has the closest gender balance at 52% male and 48% female, while The New York Times is 69% male.
My response to these percentages was genuine surprise. I am embarrassed to admit that maybe I have been too naive until this point. The journalism classes I attend seem to have more girls than boys in them. I always thought that this was because science and math are seen as male dominated fields, while English and the arts take on a more feminine stereotype.
After looking at the infographic, I am forced to face the fact that women are definitely behind in the news media. This is upsetting in itself, and as an addition to women being behind in science, math, business, politics, and economics.
It is upsetting because young girls are raised learning that they can be anything they want to be, and that they can do the same things that boys do. Women have made a tremendous amount of progress in the professional world, but these statistics say we still have a ways to go in the news industry.
I have aspirations to be a serious and successful newswoman like Camilla Webster. Reading these facts is daunting to me because I didn’t think the world was still like this. How can men still outnumber women in so much of the workforce in 2014?
It’s hard to discuss this topic without thinking about Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook C.O.O., and her book Lean In. I have heard my mom and her friends talk about how women have it harder in the work force because there are less of them, but I never SAW myself as one of those women. I was raised to see myself and the people around me for who they were as people, not for their gender. There is so much more to me than identifying as a woman.
The article also says, “women are more likely to cover topics like lifestyle, culture and health, while men are more likely to cover criminal justice, politics and tech.” This is not a bad thing unless people begin to assume that these are the only topics women can, or want to do. It’s not fair to generalize that this is what women do. I want to be free to write about anything.
If this is the way it really is, then college girls like myself need to be prepared to be outnumbered and underrated. They need to be prepared to face coworkers that might just assume they aren’t interested or capable of reporting on hard news.
Although I naturally see myself as a person, rather than a woman, it is important for me to remember that others may see me as just a woman.
Being aware of this gender gap pushed me to work harder and be more tough. Toughness isn’t only important for women competing against men for a job, but everyone competing against each other.
Below is the article from Time Magazine.
http://time.com/48170/the-media-is-still-dominated-by-men/
