Blog #5

“Female Sports Journalists: Are We There Yet? ‘No’”

            In the beginning of Hardin and Shain’s article, they discuss that the idea that “a woman writing about sports is unnatural” is still common in today’s society among many people. This idea was emphasized in a 2001 survey that found that women employees only made up 13 percent of the sports department. A later survey and study found that that it had dropped to 11 percent. A 1995 survey found that women in the sports departments reported discrimination and being “invisible” at the workplace, although also reporting job satisfaction. Further, the article discusses various surveys that revealed specific information about women journalists in the sports department. Some believed that the only way to advance their careers was to move to another organization. The sports-related workplace has been observed to be the “hostile to women who are viewed as outsiders.” The article states that the entire newsroom is considered to be male-dominated due to mostly men holding the majority of authority jobs. The culture has also been discussed to be characterized as male as they seem “aggressive/defense.” A large part of these male-dominated workplaces revealed that they didn’t feel the need to have female representation within the workplace. The study within this article looked to find what women sports journalists felt impacted their job satisfaction and continuing their careers. The study also was seeking to understand what women believed could be done to combat certain problems. Almost all of the women respondents felt that their careers choice was gratifying and rewarding. They were positive about the career choice and looked to encourage other women to make the same career choice in the future. There was a clear difference between the idea of career and job satisfaction. These women respondents workplace or job site as a “source of discrimination and potential harassment.” Women received harassment from male colleagues, athletes, and fans. One woman responded, “I hate the job, but I love what I do.” Lastly, women found the “systematic discrimination” as a “source of frustration” and a barrier to promotions. Demands on time and strain on family responsibilities was the major problem that women sports journalists were concerned about. The “lack of flexible schedules and amenities such as onsite childcare made it difficult for them to sustain their careers and their family responsibilities.” Some of the women proposed ideas on how to solve this problem including “family-friendly initiatives that the newsrooms could take.” Although this article presents problems within the newsroom and sports departments regarding female employees, the authors state that little change has been made to discard these problems. Women still continue to face barriers and the “glass ceiling.”