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Journalists lack agreement on workplace diversity

Click on the graph to see full size graph of salaries for male and female journalists.

Gender diversity in the newsroom has changed in newspapers in the Upper Midwest but men and women can't agree on how much..

Although things are getting better for women, a survey conducted by students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire about the newspaper industry revealed that women still aren't treated the same as men.

Survey results showed that 54 percent of women earn a salary that falls between $20,000 and $50,000. On the other side of the issue, 58 percent of men earn a salary greater than $50,000 with 11 percent of them earning more than $75,000. 

In addition to those numbers, survey results show that 71 percent of all journalists making less than $20,000 are women. Of the journalists earning more than $75,000, 76 percent are men while only 24 percent are women.

Women also see their pay change slower than men. Women represent only 21 percent of those who answered that their pay increases "much faster" than inflation. 

The results on the other end of the spectrum tell the same story but it isn’t as extreme. Of those reporting a pay change that is "much slower" than the rate of inflation, 54 percent are women and 46 percent are men.

Women and men can’t seem to agree as to the extent of the changing influence of women in the workplace. 

Of the female journalists who responded to the survey, 17 percent say that the influence of women in the newsroom is “much greater” than when they started. There are also 8 percent of women who think they have at least somewhat less influence now.

Of the male journalists who responded, 25 percent believe that the influence of women in the newsroom is “much greater” than when they started at their current job. On the other end of the issue, 2 percent of men believe that women have less influence now.

Women represent a slight majority of the world’s population. Despite this relative equity among the population 60 percent of journalists responding to the survey were men.

The workload for all journalists is much heavier. Female journalists say their workload has increased more often than men do with 77 percent saying their workload has increased since starting their job, compared to 61 percent of men saying their workload has increased.

Racial Diversity

Gender diversity isn’t all that is lacking in the newsroom. Racial diversity is also low.  Of those responding to the survey, 93 percent are white with 2.3 percent black and 2.1 percent Asian American.

There is disagreement about the influence of minorities in the newsroom. Among minority journalists, 25 percent believe that minorities have less of an influence now as when they first started. Only 7 percent of white journalists believe the same way.

Of black journalists, 46 percent believe that minorities have less of an influence now with just 8 percent feeling that diversity has greater influence.

Although the Upper Midwest has never been thought of as a racial melting pot, Milton Coleman, deputy managing editor of the Washington Post, believes the survey results are reflective of the industry. 

“In the last five years there has been a reason to be concerned,” Coleman said. 

The American Society of Newspaper Editors has reported that the percentage of minority journalists in 2001 fell from the previous year, despite having more full-time minority journalists hired in newsrooms across the country than in any of the previous 10 years. 

Minority populations continue to grow and will demand more attention from news organizations for years to come. Coleman believes that newspapers can do much better.

“There needs to be an increase in the quantity and quality of journalists with color, and it has to be across the board, not just blacks,” Coleman said.