Measuring and Understanding Diversity Shifts Among Journalists in French-Speaking Belgium (2012-2023)
(2024) ECREA Journalism 2024 — Location: University of Sheffield (2024.April.11AD)
Files
2024-ECREASheffielddiversityAJP.pptx
Open Access - Microsoft Powerpoint XML
- 2.54 MB
Details
- Authors
- Abstract
- This proposal outlines a comprehensive study aimed at evaluating the progression of diversity within the journalistic community in French-speaking Belgium over a decade-long period, from 2012 to 2023. Building upon the seminal 2012 survey commissioned by the Belgian Association of Professional Journalists (AJP 2012), our research employs an exact replication of the original methodology, surveying 543 individuals out of 2250 press card holders. This approach enables a rigorous assessment of the evolution in diversity profiles within newsrooms, while also considering the impact of diversity management policies implemented in response to this issue since 2012 and the rising of pro-diversity discourses in newsrooms in Belgium and elsewhere (see among numerous others: Brochardt et al. 2019). The study conducted in 2012 marked a pioneering effort in assessing diversity among journalists in French-speaking Belgium. It revealed stark disparities in gender representation, highlighting a significant under-representation of women (32%) and a low rate of diversity in foreign origin (16.6%). Furthermore, it sheds light on the over-representation of white males above the age of forty. Subsequent independent studies in Belgium reinforced these findings (Standaert & Mertens 2016; Vanhaelewyn et al. 2023, etc). and explored related issues of violence and discrimination against women journalists (De Vuyst & Raeymaeckers 2019; Malcorps et al 2022; Le Cam et al. 2022). In our 2023 survey, in order to achieve a nuanced comprehension of the observed evolutions, we also integrated three constructs from the extant literature on workplace diversity into our questionnaire (that has, to our knowledge, never been done in the field of journalism studies). These constructs enabled us to evaluate pro-diversity attitudes in a general context (utilising the 5-item pro-diversity beliefs scale by Kauff et al., 2018), assess pro-gender diversity beliefs in the workplace (employing a 2-item scale derived from Van Knippenderg et al., 2004, 2007, 2013 and Schudson et al., 2022), and gauge the perception of workplace diversity (utilising a 6-item construct). Additionally, we augmented our quantitative survey with 10 qualitative interviews conducted with managers and HR representatives from ten distinct newsrooms. Results and Discussion: Gender Diversity: While there has been a modest increase in the proportion of women among journalists (from 32% to 35.4%) between 2012 and 2023, this figure still lags behind the overall employment rate of women in Belgium. Furthermore, our analysis reveals a persistent 'leaky pipeline' phenomenon (Blickenstaff 2005), indicating a consistent attrition of women throughout their careers (see fig. 1). Origin Diversity: With regard to diversity of origin, the proportion of journalists from foreign backgrounds, which was close to 16% in 2012, has increased slightly (18,1%), but this increase must be put into perspective by the fact that diversity in the general population (with about 45,7% of French-speaking Belgian resident being foreigner or being Belgian but having at least one parent how does not have the Belgian nationality) has increased more over the period than in our sample (see fig. 2). As a result, despite the positive trend observed, the gap between the journalist population and the French-speaking Belgian population in terms of diversity of origin is greater today than it was ten years ago. In our endeavour to comprehend these developments, our analysis of the various constructs reveals that journalists, as a collective, espouse robust pro-diversity attitudes, harbouring a general belief in the societal benefits of diversity. Nevertheless, notable gender and age differentials emerge, with women and younger cohorts exhibiting a greater appreciation for diversity compared to their male and older counterparts. Pertinently, in terms of perceiving diversity within the workplace, a noteworthy observation is the significant disparity in perception between journalists holding hierarchical roles and their counterparts. Managers tend to perceive their workplaces as more diverse than non-managerial journalists, a trend that is also mirrored among male and older cohorts. Moreover, the analysis of these indicators, which indicate a favourable perception of diversity, coupled with the perception among the dominant demographic (men over 40) and those occupying positions of authority, that their workplaces are already somewhat diversified, offers a key insight into the gradual pace of change in editorial diversity witnessed from 2013 to 2023. Notably, this effect does not hold significant weight for women in positions of authority, thus corroborating Assmann & Eckert's (2023) contention that an increased presence of women in leadership positions could accelerate shifts in terms of diversity within newsrooms. This presentation provides an opportunity to deliberate on the relevance and limitation of quantitative diversity metrics and explore avenues for crafting mixed-methods research designs that seek to elucidate the observed trends.
- Affiliations
Citations
Lits, G., & Standaert, O. (2024). Measuring and Understanding Diversity Shifts Among Journalists in French-Speaking Belgium (2012-2023). ECREA Journalism 2024, University of Sheffield. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/31976