Women in a Man’s World Why it’s Hard for Women to Get...

In February, the third annual Status of Women in the U.S. Media report came out which showed women being vast underrepresented in media making up around 40.3% (only 36.3% for 2013 in newsrooms) of the workforce being women. When they tallied up how many women were staffed at both television and print journalism organizations who were hired as sports journalist, the number falls drastically to a mere 14.6% (Women’s Media Center). These numbers are troubling, because although they are most likely more than there were 20 years ago, the percentage is lower than 15%. And even so if it is growing, instead of counting women sports journalist by craft, they are measured in the â€Å"sexiness,† or â€Å"hotness,† which I as a women, only know†¦show more content†¦Although ESPN hiring rate for women seems to be the highest in the sports business, it’s very hard to get there if you have no encouragement from peers. Authors Marie Hardin and Stacie Shain explain this phenomenon once women get hired, how discouraging it can be in the work place when your peer’s don’t see you as their equal of value what you bring to the news team: â€Å"women sports journalists instead often strive to fit in a male-dominated environment, knowing they are often under scrutiny by male sports journalists who may resent their presence as ‘‘quota’’ hires (Kian, 2005). Women sports journalists who may be considered more qualified than male rivals may still find themselves locked into limiting roles ‘‘for the sake of that body’’ and unable to move from it, (Hardin and Shain, 326).† Hearing over and over that it’s hard to become a female sportscaster, then when you are in the job not elevating or moving forward because of your gender is one of the most discriminating things that can happen to a journalist. It’s as if you put in all this work and hustle but still go nowhere. Another form of discouragement that occurs against women sportscasters is the limitation of what sports women can cover. Frequently, horror stories are heard that female sportscaster or beat writers are only allowed to cover female sports. Not saying that there’s anything wrong with female sports because