Women in journalism are those females in the journalism profession. Since journalism became an occupation, women have been restrained by the traditions to access the journalism occupation. They have faced challenges, such as prejudice and harassment. Women who were journalists were treated as nonconformists; they were seen to be running away from their domestic responsibilities, which was their custom according to the traditions (Women and the Media, n.d.) . In the 20 th century, women across the world advocated for equality by emphasizing policy changes, which would grant them access to social institutions and promote their rights. Fortunately, women have made significant progress against the rejection in the media. They have worked as journalists, newswomen, editors, and other specialization within the media technology. This paper explains how female journalists are handled in the media industry around the world, the challenges they face, and determining whether there are places that female journalists should not be sent.
Female journalists have been treated negatively in their profession. As many women have taken up into the journalism profession in large numbers, there has risen a lot of resistance by their male colleagues and other individuals in society. This has promoted gender discrimination in many newsrooms as male journalists discriminate against female journalists. Although there have been many propositions and concepts suggested to defend the role of gender and women in the journalism industry, female journalists are still treated as invaders and misfits in the communication industry. Men are regarded to report reliable news, highlight the central fact of the context, and, hence, have phenomenal careers. Women journalism is purported to emphasize the characteristics and communication that have interests mostly on other women, and are essential to them (Steiner, 2012) . They outline the inconspicuous and repercussions, such as the benefits the audience requires, and approach the ethical paradoxes in a contingent manner. Women whose work in the journalism industries is to publicize, such as rewriters, are presumed to dwell more on the family-inclined newsroom ways of life; more female are recruited into this sector than men. They are not bound to the rules in comparison to the men journalist. They are also driven away from the profession by some insecure male journalists who think that they lower their pay. Women entering the journalism industry are perceived to lower the salaries for men as are considered to only ask for lower remunerations than men. This increases discrimination by men, which creates an unfavorable work environment for them.
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Women journalists are seen to dwell on stories that are disproportional, which are more of gender equalities and have a lower percentage of the total. They are seen not to report meaningful reports, such as those involving the government and politics, which have a higher interest in the news agendas (Steiner, 2012) . Men journalists always don't take into consideration the women's sources of information as they don't take them seriously and also have a perception that women's sources of information are not reliable. As a result, men journalists do not accord women interviews, which makes them use their fellow women's sources. Men only argue that women go into the newsroom only to discuss other women's issues, but also to attract more female listeners. The men journalists have no concerns about covering the aspects of men and domestic questions. Some women journalists even do not have the needed knowledge to deal with internal issues; they are just offering a "woman's touch," which is not crucial to the listeners. Many of these speculations made about women journalists are based on that men and women have different interests. Observation of students in the communication field showed that female students were not concerned in female pages, but considered themselves odd. They presumed those female readers were involved in ‘‘traditional’’ ladies’ contentment, in line with regular sex-responsibilities (Steiner, 2012) . Women journalists should be treated with equality in the journalism industry, be given benefits equivalent to their qualifications.
The female journalists are facing a lot of challenges in their occupation. The protection and safety of women journalists have been deteriorating over time. One problem that faces women journalists is sexual molestation. Many women journalists have been harassed sexually by their colleagues or other people while in the field. There is no action being taken to sue the perpetrators; for example, a female journalist from Nangarhar village in Afghanistan was sexually molested and filed her case to the attorney. Instead of helping the woman, he demanded that he would help her if she accepted to marry him (Seshu, 2014). Women journalists who protest against sexual molestation are condemned for conveying a false impression in society. Other journalists feel that if the family members know about the incidents, they will not allow them to pursue their profession. Another challenge is the killings of female journalists, where they lack enough protection while at work. There have been many murder cases of female journalists worldwide but no follow-up of investigations; for instance, a famous journalist named Zakia Zaki was shot as she was sleeping in her home (Seshu, 2014). The journalist had been receiving threats, but the government did not intervene to help the lady.
The dismissal of maternity benefits to female journalists is another challenge, especially in South Asian. The journalists are not given enough maternity period, and also, they are not well taken care of during the maternity period. The female journalists also face discrimination in their places of work. Female journalists face this inequality from their male colleagues, who exclude and hinder them from giving out their ideas and opinions equally with men. An example of discrimination, a female journalist named Catherine Mayer, claimed to have been abandoned, attacked and fired from her job in 2015 because of her age and sex. She made allegations in the lawsuits, but there was no response. This made her lose her confidence and fell into despair and other health problems (Harrison, 2017) . Despite these challenges that the women journalist face, the community should appreciate the work done by the female journalist. The government should enact laws that protect a female journalist's rights to enable them to work in a free and safe environment.
Since women journalists have become a subject of gender-based attacks, they should not be sent in all areas to report incidences. One major area that women should be protected from war zones and terrorist infested countries, such as Somalia and Iraq. Many women journalists across the globe have spoken about the issues they have faced in such zones; it becomes clear that threat to women is all-around. The more significant sorts of attacks and the established behavior have challenged women journalists' ability to move along on their careers. Female journalists are victims of uncertainties and are mostly attacked just because they are female taking the public responsibilities; they are considered to be less masculine; hence they cannot defend themselves in times of the danger of attacks. They are also affected by terrifying trends, such as widespread impunity, murder cases, and aggression. The attacks towards female journalists are routed towards sexual molestations and killing. A female journalist should not be war zones because they can't sprint enough as the men can; hence they would be less secure. Women are prone to emotions and feelings. Therefore, when female journalists are subjected to abuse such as sexual harassment, they might develop stress due to the trauma and finally lead to depression. Due to this reason, the industry should send female journalists to more secure places where their rights are protected.
In conclusion, female journalists are those females who are in the journalism profession. They have made significant progress in the media industry and enrolled in various areas, such as editing and reporting. However, their colleagues have negatively handled both in the community and in the industry; for example, they are alleged to report news that concerns women and assumed that they entered the field to lower the man's salary. They are posed with a lot of challenges that hinder them from performing their work effectively. Some of the challenges include sexual harassment, sex- discrimination, and murders. Due to these assaults done to women journalists, they should not be allowed to places, like war zones, to collect information for their safety. They should be offered proper protection as they go out to fetch information. Appropriate laws should be formulated to protect the right of female individuals in the journalism profession.
References
Harrison, E. G. (2017, August 5). The Guardian: News . Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/aug/05/catherine-mayer-interview-female-journalist-discrimination-work
Seshu, G. (2014). The Stories Women Journalist Tell Women in Media in South Asia. International Federation of Journalists.
Steiner, L. (2012, April 18). Failed Theories: Explaining Gender Difference in Journalism. Review of Communication, 12 (3), 210-223. doi: 10.1080/15358593.2012.666559
Women and the Media . (n.d.). (Pressbooks) Retrieved from BCcampus: https://opentextbc.ca/womenintheworld/chapter/chapter-10-women-and-the-media/
