City Research Online

Abstract

This study used in-depth interviews and focus groups of editors and journalists in Kenya (N = 55) to show how news organizations fail to prioritize gender equality. All participants identified a gendered hierarchy in newsrooms, which participants believed connects to other inequalities such as story assignment, pay, safety, and promotion. Most women participants had experienced sexual harassment at work multiple times. Participants also stated exclusive socialization for men, aka a “boys’ club,” was central to how newsrooms function and advantaged men in terms of building networks, promotions, scoops, work assignments, and increased job security. By linking the various negative outcomes of gendered work environments, this study adds to feminist communication scholarship by showing how organizations reinforce gendered inequalities rather than eliminating them. It also calls on gatekeeping research to focus on meso- and macro-level influences as a necessary shift away from placing responsibility on the individual level alone.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Women's Studies in Communication on 20 May 2024, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2024.2342842
Publisher Keywords:	Gatekeeping, new organizations, gendered norms, sexual harassment, Kenya, socialization, boys' club
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Journalism
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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