Experts from City, University of London conducted a study about newsrooms worldwide. They found that when gender equality is seen as low and workplace sexual harassment is common, people in newsrooms feel less happy with their jobs. This issue of harassment is not just a problem in newsrooms; it happens in many jobs.

The researchers looked at things that affect how happy people are in their jobs in the media industry. These include things like how big the company is, how much people get paid, the type of job contract they have, how they balance work and personal life, and even things like gender, race, and the political views of the company.

Gender inbalance

Unfortunately, there are still fewer women in newsrooms, and they often have shorter careers than men because of problems like unfair treatment, pay differences, and old-fashioned ideas about what men and women can do.

This study looked at how people who work in news in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Arab region feel about their jobs. These places are known for having issues with treating men and women equally and for women not having the same opportunities as men.

Here’s what the researchers found:

• Men in these regions are happier with their jobs than women, and people who don’t fit typical gender roles feel just as satisfied as men.
• Men also think that newsrooms are more fair when it comes to gender than women do. Men believe that they have an easier time getting into the news industry and getting higher-up jobs. This is also true for people who don’t fit typical gender roles.
• Women in these regions are more likely to experience verbal (words) and physical (touching) harassment while working in newsrooms or doing field assignments. This happens a lot in all three regions.
• Physical harassment is more common in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it’s similar in Southeast Asia and the Arab region. Verbal harassment is different in these regions, with Sub-Saharan Africa having the most cases, followed by the Arab region, and then Southeast Asia.
• When people face both verbal and physical harassment, they feel much less happy with their jobs.

Reduced satisfaction

In short, this study shows that problems with treating men and women fairly and with harassment at work are making people in newsrooms around the world less satisfied with their jobs.

“Journalism is a heavily male-dominated industry across the world, and quite heavily so by design,” the authors conclude.  “Our study highlights the need for structural and organizational changes to combat these inequalities that disproportionately affect women. Organizations must implement policies that address all types of sexual harassment and enact ethical charters to define gender discrimination in its different forms.”