Women in journalism

The world of journalism is predominantly dominated by males. During the 80’s journalism was considered a profession where women were not allowed to take part of. They had no access to it, and those who dared to do it were constantly facing discrimination within the profession. Nevertheless, women have always known to persevere and fight for their rightful spot in the journalism world. Today on Press Day, we wanted to celebrate the women in journalism.

Maybe it’s the charisma, or the trust that the female voice offers her audience, but if we must be very honest, a woman represents the backbone of a community. That guiding voice that nurtures, informs, educates, and entertains. The perfect qualities for a journalist.

If we take a deeper dive in the history of journalism, the first news publications were produced in family-printers where the female would take the lead of the work in the absence of the male. During the 19th century, women created periodicals that were centered on reform movements such as abolition, education, suffrage, and, in the case of China, an end to foot-binding. By the 20th century women were exploited as “sob sisters” and “stunt girls” for metropolitan newspapers, but nevertheless they established themselves as reporters and war correspondents, even though they were hired to cover women’s and society news. Initially women were virtually barred from radio and television newscasts, but the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the United States and women’s liberation internationally expanded their opportunities greatly, despite recurring prejudice even today. For four centuries women have excelled at journalism and have greatly succeeded at letting their voice be heard in a male-dominated world.

In Aruba, a female journalist doesn’t necessarily have it easy. The simple fact that our local press is predominantly dominated by men, already gives you an idea of how balanced things are. But, same as on an international scale, the female reporter still faces discrimination and gets limited within the profession, Aruba is no exception. As a female in journalism, you can sense that there is an expectation that the female must work harder to achieve her goals. She must work twice as hard as the men to be taken seriously, to get an interview, to ask the difficult questions. As a female in journalism, you must be confident in your skin and work hard to bring what your audience wants to hear, forward. Till this day, there are still plenty of people that do not respect women in journalism but as a person who grew up listening to the voices of journalism on this tiny island, I have to mention that we need more female voices in journalism in Aruba.

But, as history has proven itself, women will always persevere and excel. Who knows, maybe in a few years, our local press will consist of mostly females. For this year, we hope to bring a breath of fresh air, with the hope of elevating the quality of our local press here in Aruba.