The article by Corinne Segal highlights the ongoing gender and racial disparities in leadership positions within the journalism industry, based on findings from a census conducted by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE). Despite some progress over the years, the statistics reveal a stagnation in the representation of women and racial minorities in supervisory roles at print newspapers.
Specifically, women hold 35.4 percent of supervisory positions, a slight increase from 33.8 percent in 1999, suggesting that meaningful progress has been slow. Furthermore, women lead only three out of the 25 largest U.S. newspapers and just one of the top 25 international titles. In terms of overall representation, women constitute 37.2 percent of newspaper employees, marking only a marginal rise since the late 1990s. The representation of racial minorities is even bleaker, accounting for only 13 percent of the workforce.
In broadcast journalism, the situation is somewhat similar, with women making up 31 percent of news directors and 20 percent of general managers, as per a 2014 survey. Radio newsrooms show the lowest representation of female leaders, with only 23 percent of news directors and 18 percent of general managers being women.
These figures indicate that the journalism industry has a significant gender problem, alongside issues of racial diversity, particularly in leadership roles. Addressing these disparities is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and representative media landscape.