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Female Newspaper Photographers' Perceptions of Women Photojournalists
by
Ken Heinen
Assistant Professor of Photojournalism
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Office: 765 285-8217
Mark Popovich
Professor of Journalism
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Office: 765 285-8207
Department of Journalism
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
Fax: 765 285-7997
Submitted to the research paper competition of the Visual Communication
Division
of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
April 1, 2003
Female Newspaper Photographers' Perceptions of Women Photographers
Traditionally, photojournalism has been the bastion of male photographers,
but this imbalance may be changing along with its accompanying sexist
attitudes. In a recent study of working newspaper photo editors,
investigators found that the majority of these editors see little
difference between the performance of male and female photojournalists
(Heinen and Popovich 2002).
The first view projected by the photo editors examined for that study was
that women are the equal of men in commitment to the profession, in
sensitivity to their photo subjects, in objectivity covering their photo
assignments, in their eye for detail, and in their ability to earn the same
salaries as men. Although these editors grudgingly conceded that gender
bias might exist in some form in the profession, progress has been made as
attested to by this female photo editor:
As in all life, most of the difficulties for women in photojournalism come
from the roadblocks already established in society. Sometimes gender comes
into play as an important personal attribute, like race, which may make an
assignment more or less appropriate. But, natural talents for "seeing,"
grasping technology or being a good journalist and sensitive human seem
equally distributed between the two sexes. Sexism is a tradition that is
slowly subsiding.
The second view that arose from the same study suggested that in the
everyday work world, the sexes are not necessarily equal in
performance. It projected some reservations about female commitment to the
profession and observed that there are some photo assignments for which
women are less well suited than men and some they can do better than their
male colleagues.
At a broader level, improving diversity in the newsroom has become a hot
topic among editors and executives at newspaper chains and at individual
newspapers (Splichal and Garrison 2000). Newsroom diversity is normally
considered in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. There is some evidence
to suggest that newsroom diversity in gender is improving. Becker et. al
(2001) found that the percentage of women in the journalism profession rose
from 20 percent in 1971 to 28 percent in 2000, a surpassingly small
increase. Walsh-Childers, Change and Herzog (1996) reported that 35
percent of the workforce in newspapers was female, while 2000 U.S. Census
figures show that 55.8 percent of the editors and reporters in this country
are female. When it comes to all photographers, not just newspaper
photojournalists, however, 2000 U.S. Census data reports that females
comprise 32.6 percent of that occupation.
Becker's Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communications Graduates found
that in 2002 nearly two-thirds of the graduates were women, and Golombisky
(2002) notes that, "female students have been the majority in mass
communication for nearly twenty-five years." Clearly, if the majority of
these female graduates find employment in journalism, women could have a
stronger voice in newsrooms in the near future. Because these trends are
seldom broken down by specific types of jobs, little literature is
available about the number and role of women in newspaper
photojournalism. The scope of this study is limited to a look at what
kinds of gender-related workplace attitudes are prevalent among practicing
female newspaper photojournalists.
As recently as the1980s, many female photojournalists felt that their work
was not taken seriously partly because they were often given softer
assignments than men (Rosenblum 2000). Diana Walker, a Washington-based
photographer for Time, observed that in the1960s few women photographers
covered the White House, but 20 years later about half of the photographers
were female (Roseblum 2000). After four years as a war photographer for
Contact Press Images, Deborah Copaken Kogan referred to the profession as
"the manliest of men's worlds" in which she had to prove herself
constantly. She wrote, "In the field I had to be not only as full of macho
bravado and testosterone as my colleagues, but more so" (Kogan 2001, 93).
While considerably fewer in numbers than men, women have historically
played a significant role in documentary photography and
photojournalism. When Roy Stryker dispatched his band of Farm Security
Administration photographers to show conditions during the Great
Depression, he included Dorothea Lange, a specialist in documenting the
problems of migrant workers (Newhall 1964). Even though she was the only
woman in the group of 13 photographers, her 1936 portrait of a migrant
mother with children in Nipomi, California, may be one of the most
memorable images of that era.
Margaret Bourke-White was an accomplished industrial photographer and
associate editor of Fortune and Life magazines before she made the
photograph for the first cover of Life. In 1937, she produced a
photographic essay on the faces of the south and in the same year she
produced a highly acclaimed eleven-page Life photographic essay on life in
Muncie, Indiana, the subject of Robert and Helen Lynd's 1927 sociological
study, Middletown (Newhall 1964). During World War II, Bourke-White was
accredited by Life and the Defense Department as a war correspondent and
"in 1942 she was the first woman to fly on bombing missions from North
Africa" (Rosenblum 2000, 185).
The 4x5-inch Speed Graphic press camera, the workhorse of the newspaper
industry in the 1940s, was deemed too heavy for women to take on
assignments and some subject matter, such as sports and hard news, was
considered "too rough for them to cover" (Rosenblum 2000, 204). The bulk
and weight of equipment became less of an issue as newspapers slowly
switched to medium format twin-lens cameras and finally to 35-millimeter
gear in the late1950s, but assignment discrimination, lower pay than men,
poor advancement opportunities and peer harassment persisted.
Some female photojournalists have found gender issues a two-way
street. Mary Lou Foy tells about her experiences in the 1970s and 1980s
before she moved from The Miami Herald to The Washington Post:
In those early days, there were places the papers wouldn't send a woman: a
nighttime assignment in a bad housing project, for example. But there were
times they chose me over one of the guys. Once it was an art class with a
nude female model and, another time, a drug stakeout that took place in a
bar. A woman with cameras was far less obtrusive than a man.
The last time I was tossed out of an assignment because I was a woman came
after an Orange Bowl game in the early 1980s. Although I had credentials,
two Florida state troopers carried me from the locker room. Today, women
work locker rooms everywhere.
It seemed to me that it evened out. Since women generally are perceived as
less of a threat, I was frequently given coveted assignments to cover
sensitive subjects who initially didn't want a photographer around (Foy
1998, 42).
Concerning sexist attitudes of male staffers, Mary Lou Foy said, "My
approach to being the only woman photographer was to try to be one of the
boys. Among other things, that meant that I laughed at dirty jokes and put
up with girlie photos on the wall. I also kept my mouth shut when married
colleagues had girlfriends" (Foy 1998, 43). By the late 1980s, there were
seven female photographers on The Miami Herald staff, one-quarter of the
paper's shooters. The women stuck together to win awards and to fight back
at the sexist attitudes.
Differences in salary structure and career advancement for women
photojournalists compared to their male counterparts are topics that have
not received much attention in the literature. Chang (1975) noted that
women receive lower pay than men in the same departments at newspapers, but
no specific mention was made about photographers.
The conflict between job and family may be the biggest problem area for
women photojournalists. Former war photographer Deborah Copaken Kogan
summed up the problem after she gave up photojournalism:
I decided to quit photojournalism after only four years in the
profession. My reasons were many
and varied, including exhaustion, disillusionment and a burgeoning sense of
mortality. However,
(and though I was loath to admit it back then, especially to my fellow
photojournalists), I also
quit because I'd fallen in love, because I wanted to start a family. And I
felt quite simply and
quite personally, that being someone's mom and covering wars
were at odds with one another
Kogan 2001, 93).
The issues of whether to marry and whether to have children vex many
female photojournalists. Margaret Bourke-White, in her own words, chose
not be bound by "golden chains" (Bourke-White 1964, 197). Mary Lou Foy's
marriage broke up "partly because of long hours in the darkroom making
perfect prints, but also due to the stress of daily newspapering in a city
with high crime and fast money. I could be nuts after work" (Foy 1998,
43). Dedication to her work has taken a personal toll on The Washington
Post multiple-Pulitzer Prize winner Carol Guzy who "is divorced and her
personal life is in flux, as she describers it. She talks about longing
for stability but continues on a high-speed course that isn't likely to
lead to a white picket fence existence. She put off the decision to have
children during her marriage" (Ricchiardi 1998, 33).
According to the National Press Photographers Association, the trade group
that represents photojournalists, paid memberships during the summer of
2001 totaled 9,796. Of those, 7,153 said they worked in print media with
the remainder being in television. The percentage of all women in NPPA was
21 percent while the percentage of female still photographers was 24.3
percent. The actual figures may be slightly higher because some women do
not answer the gender question on the membership form. By comparison, in
1976, only 300 of the 4,200 (7.1 per cent) NPPA members were women
(Slattery and Fosdick 1979). The most recent undergraduate enrollment
figures at schools of journalism averaged 63 percent female, indicating
that the number of women seeking jobs in the news industry may be rising
significantly (Becker et al. 2002).
Few would argue that women have made their mark in this world as
photojournalists. However, their success has not come easily in this
male-dominated profession, as their testimony illustrates. With the
potential influx of large numbers of new female talent on the horizon and
the concern about diversity in the newsroom, the researchers in this
follow-up study were interested to learn how women newspaper photographers
felt about gender issues as they pertain to their particular
newspapers. The investigators thought it might be interesting to compare
these findings with how newspaper photo editors felt on the same topics in
an earlier study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
While informative articles about women photojournalists have been published
in the trade press, little scholarly research has been done in the area of
women in photojournalism. Neilan (1999) noted in her master's thesis that
there was a dearth of research concerning the role and status of women in
photojournalism.
Slattery and Fosdick (1979), in their survey of NPPA members, found that
women photojournalists showed the same level of professional values as men
on the basis of the McLeod/Hawley index. Their findings indicated that
photojournalism might be one of those occupations that minimizes the effect
of "sex status" because of the performance levels that photojournalism
jobs demand.
Bethune (1984) conducted a national survey of full-time daily newspaper
photographers to compile a sociological profile of them. Only 10.9 percent
of the respondents to the survey were female. As a result, she concluded
that the average daily newspaper photographer was ". . . a young,
college-educated, white male, a Protestant, slightly liberal in
politics. He has a strong professional orientation through his
professional organization, the National Press Photographers Association,
and he continues his training through seminars, workshops and courses"
(Bethune 1984, 614). The author found that 65 percent of her respondents
were only somewhat satisfied or not very satisfied with their opportunities
to move into management, and 75 percent of the respondents felt that they
had less opportunity to advance upward at their newspaper than a reporter
with comparable experience and skills on the same newspaper. She found
that 40 percent of the photojournalists under the age of 30 in her study
were somewhat dissatisfied or not very satisfied with their jobs.
Pasternack and Martin (1985) noted in their study of daily newspaper
photojournalism in the Rocky Mountain region that approximately four of
every five (81.3 percent) staff photographers were young males, a figure
confirmed by NPPA membership records. Except for this figure, gender
issues were not mentioned in the study or in its list of five
characteristics newspaper editors seek in photojournalists.
Although photojournalism research did not deal directly with problems that
female photojournalists face as identified in the self-reports that
appeared in the trade and professional journals, there have been a handful
of studies that have focused on diversity and discrimination of women in
newsrooms in general.
Lublin (1972) queried news executives about their attitudes and employment
practices, and she queried newspaperwomen to see if they had experienced,
or perceived, any discrimination in their jobs. Overall, she concluded
that some, but not extensive, discrimination existed in the newsroom, and
she based her decision on the fact that between one-third and one-half of
newspaperwomen perceived sex bias in hiring, job status, and
promotability. She added that newspaper jobs and beats for women were
still linked to traditional management perceptions of women, and those
perceptions were also responsible for limiting the ability of newswomen to
advance to news executive positions.
In a national study of women's page editors, Chang (1975) found women's
salaries to be significantly less than men's for comparable work. Chang
noted that although the women polled did not see themselves as tokens on
the staff, they did not appreciate the chauvinistic attitudes of some of
their male co-workers. More recently, however, Heinen and Popovich (2002)
found that newspapers photo editors reported overwhelmingly that pay for
photojournalists is based on performance rather than gender.
Flatow (1994) observed that 68 percent of the women working in editorial
positions at Indiana newspapers reported they had experienced sexual
harassment in the workplace. Verbal abuse from co-workers was the most
common problem. The study did not specify figures for particular editorial
departments.
Jolliffe and Catlett (1995) were interested in tracking over a twenty-year
period whether an increase in the number of women magazine editors would
result in content differences in their magazines. The authors reported
that two views about the entry of women into the media were evident in the
literature. One view was that women would bring a different set of news
values to the media environment. The second view was concerned with the
effect of "hegemony" on gender and media practice. Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed., 2001) defines hegemony as "preponderant
influence or authority over others." In practice, the authors say, women
who wish to be promoted to executive levels in media organizations would
compromise their own values to accept the values of the male dominated
class of executives who run media organizations.
Results of the tracking led the researchers to conclude that during the
period of greater social upheaval, 1965-1975, women editors were more
likely to increase positive portrayals of women. But in the later period,
1975-1985, women editors returned to the same stereotypical treatments of
women that male editors had engaged in during the 1960s. Since social
change had just as much effect on female editors' content choices as
hegemony, the authors concluded that in order to change the content in
women's magazines, a change in the dominant culture would have to take
place. At the very least, a proliferation of female editors would be
needed to bring about social change.
Walsh-Childers, Chance, and Herzog (1996) found in their study of women in
newsrooms that only 35 percent of the newspaper work force is composed of
women and that those women have salaries eight percent lower than their
male counterparts. Of the women they surveyed, nearly 40 percent felt they
had experienced at least some discrimination in the form of assignments,
salary, or advancement during their careers. While six percent of the 227
respondents were photographers, no separate statistical breakdown was
provided for their views. However, the authors noted one case in which a
female chief photographer from a small southeastern newspaper often is
required to do laboratory processing for a male co-worker, a situation that
she feels would not exist if she were a male.
The authors suggest "that sex discrimination continues to be a significant
problem for women working in America's daily newspapers. Significant
numbers of women journalists obviously still feel discriminated against by
their employers concerning salaries, assignments, and promotions"
(Walsh-Childers, Chance, and Herzog 1966, 86).
In light of the evidence concerning discrimination toward women in
newspaper newsrooms and considering the numbers of women preparing now in
journalism schools to enter the field, the investigators wonder what kind
of attitudes women will encounter entering photojournalism jobs in the near
future. The focus of this study is the perceptions of female newspaper
staff photographers concerning working conditions for women photographers
at their papers? What do female photographers think about the work habits,
salaries, sexist attitudes, and family-versus -career issues where they
work? Are women photographers of one mind concerning these issues, or are
there various attitudes prevalent among them? How do these views differ
from those suggested in a similar study of newspaper photo editors who will
be hiring the new crop of female photojournalists?
METHOD
Investigators chose to employ Q methodology to help them understand female
newspaper photographers' perceptions of conditions for women in their
newspapers' photo departments. The collection of Q statements (see
Appendix A) used in the sorts presented to the photographers was
constructed from magazine articles, on-line references, and photojournalism
convention presentations and discussions. The statements were essentially
the same as those used for the photo editors' study. The point of view for
a few statements was altered to reflect that of the photographers rather
than that of their editors. In all, 57 statements were constructed
representing equally either positive statements toward female participation
in newspaper photojournalism, negative statements toward female
participation, or neutral statements that gave credit to the
photojournalism exploits of both genders.
Thirty-six female newspaper photojournalists who had won national
photojournalism awards in the 2001 NPPA-sponsored "The Best of
Photojournalism" competition and female photojournalists selected at random
from the 2002 NPPA membership lists were selected to receive the Q sorts by
mail. Investigators were able to obtain a cross-section of newspaper
circulation sizes that ranged from 12,000 to over one million in daily
circulation. Along with the Q sorts, investigators asked the photographers
to provide some basic demographic information about themselves and they
were asked two open-ended questions about their sorts. They were asked to
write comments about why they most agreed with their top two positive
choices and why they most disagreed with their top negative choices. The
condition of instruction provided to the photographers was as follows:
What are your feelings about the current role of women photojournalists at
your newspaper?
Once the Q sorts were returned, investigators factor analyzed the
photographers' ratings using PQMethod, a public domain program that is
available from the following website:
http://www.rz.unibw-muenchen.de/~p41bsmk/qmethod/
Investigators determined that a hand-rotated two-factor solution presented
the best opportunity for interpretation of the Q sorts. To reach this
conclusion, they employed procedures outlined in Brown (1980). Factors
were viable if they contained at least two significant factor loadings at
the .01 level. Factor loadings were significant if they exceeded
.342. This significant correlation was calculated from a formula for the
standard error of a zero-order loading that also is explained in
Brown. Investigators accepted a z-score criterion of +/- 1.0 to consider
significant those statements on the factor statement z-score arrays
produced by PQMethod. Once significant positive and negative statements
were obtained for each factor, investigators compared those statements
between each factor to determine the differences between the perceptions of
each typical factor type. Investigators employed a method explained in
Brown (1980), which utilized factor Q sort values for each statement. If a
difference of an absolute score of three was exhibited between factor
rankings for each statement, the statement was declared a significant
statement for that particular factor array. Overall, Factor 1 subjects
exhibited six statements that were ranked significantly different from
Factor 2, and Factor 2 exhibited seven statements significantly different
from Factor 1.
FINDINGS
Sixteen women photojournalists returned usable Q sorts for this
study. With the exception of one, they were all staff photographers at
their publications, or had just left their position as a staff
photographer. In most cases, their immediate supervisors were
men. Average age of this group was 36 years, and their ages ranged from 23
to 55 years of age. They averaged 12 years in the profession, and seven
years at their current position. Their professional experience ranged from
a low of one year, to a high of 33 years. One photojournalist had been at
her present position just three months, but the range extended to 23 years
in the current position. Photo staff sizes for the respondents in this
study ranged from three to 34, with an average of 12
photojournalists. Women comprised three of that group on the average, and
the range of women photojournalists on a staff was from one to eight.
Once the Q sorts were collected and entered into the PQMethod statistical
program, investigators determined that women expressed two groups of
attitudes concerning their role at their newspapers. This analysis
accounted for 56 percent of the variance in the solution, and the
correlation between the two factors was .211, which would suggest that two
distinct patterns of attitudes were evident in the group that participated
in this study. For purposes of discussion, the investigators labeled
Factor 1 female photojournalists as the "Egalitarians," and they labeled
Factor 2 female photojournalists as the "Feminists."
Factor 1 Women Photojournalists
From the Q sorts of the Egalitarians, 22 statements were determined to be
significant--11 positive and 11 negative (See Table 1). Six of the 11
positive statements chosen by this factor contained both male and female
references in the same statements, which suggested that members of this
factor believed that the various traits and skills required in the
profession would be found in both males and females.
This factor believed that men and women covered heart-wrenching stories
equally well, that men and women were equally sensitive when covering
sensitive topics and equally sensitive to their subjects, that both
suffered equally from the rigors of the profession, and that shift work
could lead to an unstable life for both males and females. One 33-year-old
photojournalist underscored this point from the female side:
I think that it (#52) is true, and speaks to me. I have had a rough time
in the business--balancing the
business and where it leads me with my personal life. I don't think my
having a rough time
balancing the two has yet to do with gender. The actual image making is
not rigorous. The
challenge arises from office politics and trying to find a newsroom
which is the right fit to work in
and trying to find a community which is the right one for me as a
person--for when I put the camera
down.
They did not believe that gender was related to commitment to the
profession, nor did they think that gender should enter into decisions
about who had a better "eye" for photographs, who produced better
photographs, or who should get an assignment as long as the job gets
done. The female photographers on this factor had also witnessed female
photographers rising to the top of their profession.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 1: Factor 1 Significant Positive and Negative Statements with
corresponding z-scores
No. Statement
z-scores
13 I believe that commitment to photojournalism is not gender
related. 2.073
54 I have seen men and women photographers cover heart-wrenching
stories equally well. 1.865
31 I have seen male and female photographers cover sensitive topics
equally well. 1.761
6 From the pictures I have seen, gender makes no difference when
determining who has a better eye for detail. 1.687
3 I don't think that gender is an issue when recognizing excellent
photojournalism work. 1.523
26 It makes no difference to my editor whether a male or female takes a
photo assignment as long 1.500
as the job is done and meets the deadline.
52 The rigors of photojournalism can take a personal toll on both men
and women practitioners. 1.431
22 I am aware that male photojournalists can be just as sensitive to
their subjects as their female coworkers. 1.369
55 The consistent quality of a photographer's images, not gender, makes
the greatest difference in who gets 1.203
the best assignments.
40 In my experience, I have found that shift work can lead to unstable
family life for both male and 1.188
female photographers.
8 I have seen female shooters steadily rise to the top of the
profession. 1.179
2 I see no good reason why women should carry cameras into locker
rooms. -1.006
57 I feel that women photographers have a better eye for details than
men photographers. -1.115
7 It is clear to me that men make better combat photographers than
women. -1.163
25 I think that male photojournalists have better eye for detail than
women photojournalists. -1.186
37 My experience has been that it takes a women photographer longer to
do a project than a male photographer. -1.194
9 I have noted that male photographers usually display more patience
when dealing with subjects than women. -1.197
45 I have sensed that women photographers are more committed to their
work than men. -1.234
49 I think that strong feelings about feminist issues often bias women
photographer's coverage of news events. -1.355
56 Most of the male photographers at my paper are more objective in
their news coverage than women. -1.807
46 Around here, the women photographers are more moody than the
men. -1.811
35 I find it hard to believe that women can be first-rate sports
photographers. -1.886
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Two statements struck a particular cord with the women on this factor,
which prompted them to offer interesting comments. The gender v.
commitment statement (#13) and the heart-wrenching story statement (#54)
prompted these points-of-view:
From a 35-year-old photojournalist:
While gender may influence a point of view, interests, and photographic
style, I don't believe it
influences tangible things like commitment, hard work, honesty, etc.
From a 36-year-old photojournalist:
In my experience as a photojournalist, I have not discovered that it is
gender that affects the way
photographers cover these stories, but rather the background,
environment, and emotional maturity
and sensitivity of an individual photographer that affects him or her.
While the women on this factor strongly believe that men and women are
equally capable of carrying out photojournalistic job responsibilities, the
existence of discrimination in the newsroom was not mentioned or alluded to
by the photojournalists. In fact their significant negative statements
seek to reinforce the equality between men and women in the newsroom by
rejecting stereotypical comments about women photojournalists. Factor 1
females believe strongly women photographers should carry cameras into
locker rooms, into military combat, and onto sports fields and into
arenas. They reject comments about women photographers who are considered
to be too moody, display less patience than men when dealing with subjects,
are less objective than men in news coverage, have a poorer eye for details
than men, take longer to complete a photo project than men, or that they
allow feminist issues to bias their own photo coverage.
When considering the question about female moodiness, one 47-year-old
photojournalist said, "This is an offensive stereotype. It is not true at
my paper, where the two 'moodiest' staffers are male."
Concerning locker rooms, a 28-year-old photojournalist said, "I have been
in male and female locker rooms. I was equally accepted by male
photojournalists and athletes. My eye is just as much using
photojournalism ethics as the male photographer next to me. What a woman
photographs would still be under the criteria of the assignment."
Another 28-year-old photojournalist said, "Our jobs are to be objective
and I think that both males and females as photographers do this with the
professionalism that is expected and with journalistic integrity equally
well here at this paper. The editors are a different story . . . . "
There were six statements that were significantly different for Factor 1
members from Factor 2, as a result of the analysis of factor scores for the
statements for each factor (See Table 2).
Four positive significant statements that appear for Factor 1 reinforce
the significant positive statements chosen by the members of Factor
1. These statements illustrate that the photojournalists on Factor 1 do
not think that gender is an issue in their work, nor do they think that
female photographers are less
sensitive than men when dealing with stories and story topics. One
significant negative statement is
____________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 2: Significant Statements for Factor 1
Factor 1 Factor 2 Statements:
5 2 54 I have seen men and women photographers cover
heart-wrenching stories equally well.
4 1 3 I don't think that gender is an issue when
recognizing excellent photojournalism work.
4 1 6 From the pictures I have seen, gender makes no
difference when determining who has a better eye for details.
4 1 31 I have seen male and female photographers cover
sensitive subjects equally well.
-4 2 45 I have sensed that women photographers are more
committed to their work than men.
-4 -1 49 I think that strong feelings about feminist issues
often bias women photographers' coverage of news events.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
problematic for this factor. Factor l women photojournalists do not agree
that women are more committed to their work than men. They will argue that
women are the equals of men, but there is a feeling that men may be more
committed to their jobs than women. The following comments provided a
realistic context:
One 23-year-old photojournalist said, "I find that often women
photojournalists stay home with their children or make a career change when
they become mothers."
Finally, one 42-year-old photojournalist said, "I find it difficult to do
any travel assignments due to my role as a mom. My kids are first and work
second. I work a shift during the day. I have responsibilities with my
family at night and feel the preservation of my family is more important
than photojournalism."
Factor 2 Women Photojournalists
What distinguishes Factor 2 women photojournalism from the members of
Factor 1 is that there is more to this issue than the mere fact they are
equal to men. Factor 2 women think they are better than men as
photojournalists, and their significant positive and negative statements
illustrate these feelings toward male photojournalists. (See Table 3).
Factor 2 female photojournalists did not equivocate on their superiority
over men photojournalists. They made it clear that male discrimination has
held women photojournalists back, even though women make better emotional
connections with their subjects, have a better eye for details, take
directions from their
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 3: Factor 2 Significant Positive and Negative Statements with
Corresponding z-scores
No. Statement
z-scores
19 I think that many women photojournalists are held back by male
discrimination in the profession. 2.300
20 I sense that women build better emotional connections with their
subjects than men. 1.728
51 I have noticed that women take some of the best sports
photographs. 1.510
57 I feel that women photographers have a better eye for details than
men photographers. 1.430
13 I believe that commitment to photojournalism is not gender
related. 1.373
16 My opinion is that women photographers take directions from their
editors better than men. 1.293
55 The consistent quality of a photographer's images, not gender, makes
the greatest difference in who gets 1.224
the best assignments.
17 I think women photojournalists are more curious than
men. 1.144
29 I have observed that women photojournalists have stronger instinct
to delve beneath the surface of the stories 1.076
they shoot.
46 Around here, the women photographers are more moody than
men. -1.076
35 I find it hard to believe that women can be first-rate sports
photographers. -1.293
56 Most of the male photographers are more objective in their news
coverage than women photographers. -1.362
47 Concerning family vs. career, I have seen that it is hard for women
photojournalists to have both -1.373
and do it well.
14 I think a woman's photojournalism career becomes secondhand if she
becomes a mother. -1.442
5 I doubt gender is an issue when considering how photojournalists
"see" pictures. -2.014
27 I do not think my editors consider gender when hiring
photographers. -2.082
25 I think that male photojournalists have better eye for detail than
women photojournalists. -2.231
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
editors better than men, are more curious than men, and have a stronger
instinct to delve beneath the surface of their stories. One
"twenty-something" photojournalist emphasized the point when she said,
"I've applied eight times for promotion, and seven times it goes to a guy
from the outside."
The Factor 2 view expressed here rejected any stereotypes of women and
their commitment to the profession, female moodiness, that women were less
objective, or that gender was an issue when "seeing" pictures. This view
strongly rejected the feelings that women had trouble choosing between a
career and a family, and that a photojournalism career for women became
secondhand when they became mothers. These photojournalists were in
agreement with the statement that their editors consider gender when hiring
photographers. And it goes beyond hiring for some. One 29-year-old
photojournalist said, "Unfortunately, I happen to know that a female who is
among the top ranked in quality is the lowest paid in the chain."
Seven statements emerged as significant statements that differentiated
Factor 2 from Factor l women photojournalists. Those that Factor 2 rated
the highest turned up neutral among Factor 1 ratings, or were rejected by
Factor 1.
To the feminists on this factor, two of the three statements they rejected
concerned family and career. They did not support the idea that women
would make their photojournalism careers secondhand if they
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 4: Significant Statements for Factor 2
Factor 1 Factor 2 Statements:
0 5 19 I think that many women photojournalists are held
back by male discrimination in the profession.
1 5 20 I sense that women photographers build better
emotional connections with their subjects than men.
0 4 51 I have noticed that women take some of the best
sports photographs.
-3 4 57 I feel that women photographers have a better
eye for detail than men photographers.
1 -4 5 I doubt gender is an issue when considering how
photojournalists "see" pictures.
1 -4 14 I think a woman's photojournalism career becomes
secondhand if she becomes a mother.
1 -4 47 Concerning family vs. career, I have seen that it is
hard for women photojournalists to have both and do it all well.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
became mothers, and they felt that women photojournalists could have both a
career and a family if they so desired. Whether those views are realistic
in the long run remains to be seen, because women photojournalists on
Factor 1, who displayed moderate agreement with those statements, would not
be so eager to agree with feminists on these particular issues. To
illustrate, one 28-year-old Factor 1 photojournalist said:
The family ones (statements) are interesting. We all struggle with
that. As a woman it is hard. I do
feel that I could never have a 'normal' home life, especially at this
paper. Our shifts are so unstable.
We have to be extremely flexible. It's almost impossible to maintain a
relationship although I've
seen it done elsewhere.
Putting aside the statements concerning career v. family for a moment, it
is clear from this study that two patterns of feelings existed among those
who participated in this Q study. One pattern, Factor 1, expressed the
belief that women are equal to men in just about every facet of the
photojournalism profession except one. They believed there may be some
evidence that women photojournalists were not as committed to their
profession as men. And for the most part, they did not give any indication
that discrimination in the newsroom was a problem with which they had to
deal. They believed that their own dedication to their profession, and the
skills that they brought to the profession would serve them well in the
newsroom.
The second view that emerged, Factor 2, was strongly supportive of women
photojournalists in the newsroom to the point of expressing superiority
over their male colleagues. They firmly believed that male discrimination
has held back women in the profession, and they felt strongly that women
are able to balance their careers and their families, without compromising
their commitment to the profession.
DISCUSSION
What prompted this study at the outset was a previous study reported by
the authors that queried whether newspaper photo editors were accurate in
their perceptions that women photojournalists were equal to men in the
profession, and that this equality had transcended the effects of male
domination in newspaper photojournalism. The authors had determined that
there was a difference between editor perception and actual practice in the
field of photojournalism and they suggested that the difference might be
resolved by conducting a similar study with the rank and file in the
profession.
This current study was focused on the feelings of 16 female
photojournalism staff members from newspaper across the U.S. Their
responses to the Q sorts that they completed produced two factors of
feelings toward their profession. One factor strongly supported the
perceptions of editors that appeared in the first study. This factor felt
that women were equal to men in every facet of photojournalism, and that
their own skills and dedication to photojournalism would be their equalizer
for success in the profession. They dismissed the female stereotypes of
women being more moody than men, being less organized on projects then men,
having less patience than men, being less objective than men, or allowing
feminist issues to cloud their coverage of news events, among other
things. If there was a difference between men and women in newspaper
photojournalism, it concerned commitment to the profession. Although not
believing that commitment was gender-related, the women photojournalists on
this factor were realistic enough to confess that women might not be as
committed to the profession as men. The question of balancing career
versus family was a tough struggle for women, as this
28-year-old-photojournalist pointed out:
Sex doesn't play a part in this (shift work leading to unstable family
life). It is equally bad for both sexes. I have to say though that male
editors at my paper have an easier time with the wives at home
or assuming more of the domestic duties. This work is unstable and hard
on everyone's personal life.
I have seen women more frustrated with this aspect though.
The second factor, however, produced feelings that were stronger that
those expressed by Factor 1 about men and women. This factor believed that
women had been held back professionally by males in the field, even though
there was little doubt that women were superior to men in all facets of
photojournalism. They debunked the female stereotypes and felt strongly
that women could balance their careers and home lives without sacrificing
their commitment to the profession. These feelings take on more
significance in light of the following expressions contributed by the
female photojournalists in this study:
A 45-year-old photojournalist said: ". . . it has been my experience that
once you prove yourself
(men or women) you get more and better assignments."
A 28-year-old photojournalist said, "I can also tell you that the women
photographers at our paper
have to work harder to prove themselves to an all male editor staff."
A 39-year-old photojournalist said, "I feel the commitment and hard work
it takes to become
successful, not only in photojournalism but across the board, is a
personal issue and not a male-
female issue."
With these feelings reverberating in one's mind, the existence of the
elitist feelings provided by Factor 2 toward their profession takes on more
than symbolic meaning for women photojournalists. It becomes a mindset
that helps them to succeed within their surroundings, their job conditions,
their career choices, and the competition that they face daily in their
working environments. Women photojournalists in this study expressed the
belief that they are equal to men in every way in their profession, and
that belief helps them to put aside any feelings or fears about male
discrimination in their environments. However, to really succeed in their
profession, they bolster their confidence by calling upon their deepest
feelings and beliefs that say to them that they are superior to their male
counterparts in every facet of photojournalism. Their success depends upon
their belief that they are better than their male compatriots.
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Appendix A
Factor Statements with z-scores and factor ranks
Factors
No. Statement No.
1 2
1 I believe gender barriers are eroding for female
photojournalists. 1 0.85 12 0.35 21
2 I see no good reason why women should carry cameras into locker
rooms. 2 -1.01 47 -0.14 33
3. I don't think that gender is an issue when recognizing
excellent 3 1.52 5 0.51 18
photojournalism work.
4 In my opinion, women war photographers have shot some of the best
combat images. 4 0.12 26 -0.22 35
5 I doubt gender is an issue when considering how photojournalists
"see" pictures. 5 0.31 20 -2.01 55
6 From the pictures I have seen, gender makes no difference when
determining who 6 1.69 4 -0.37 38
who has a better eye for details.
7 It is clear to me that men make better combat photographers than
women. 7 -1.16 49 0.22 25
8 I have seen female shooters steadily rise to the top of the
profession. 8 1.18 11 -0.30 36
9 I have noted that male photographers usually display more patience with
subjects 9 -1.20 52 -0.64 41
than women
10 If one of men is available, he will be sent into a rough part of the
city at night 10 -0.43 36 0.37 20
before a female photographer will be assigned to the same story.
11 I think women photojournalists are better at topics such as domestic
violence than men. 11 0.01 28 0.87 14
12 I am more comfortable working with male photojournalists than female
ones. 12 -0.59 41 0.14 26
13 I believe that commitment to photojournalism is not gender
related. 13 2.07 1 1.37 5
14 I think a woman's photojournalism career becomes secondhand if she
becomes a mother. 14 0.17 24 -1.44 54
15 My experience has been that women photojournalists are more patient
with their
subjects than male photographers. . 15 -0.21 32 0.79 16
16 My opinion is that women photojournalists take directions from their editors
better than men. 16 -0.49 37 1.29 6
17 I think women photographers are more curious than
men. 17 -0.52 39 1.14 8
18 I have noted that women have more patience with technical problems
than men. 18 -0.25 34 -0.08 30
19 I think that many women photojournalists are held back by male
discrimination in the 19 -0.15 31 2.30 1
profession.
20 I sense that women photographers build better emotional connections
with their 20 0.22 23 1.73 2
subjects than men.
21 I think that photographers sometimes are reluctant to discuss gender
issues with their editors. 21 0.73 14 0.72 17
22 I am aware that male photojournalists can be just as sensitive to
their subjects as female co-workers. 22 1.37 8 -0.14 33
23 As far as I know, comparable quality work earns equal salaries for
every photographer at my paper. 23 -0.03 29 -1.00 49
24 I feel my editor is overprotective of female
photographers. 24 -0.53 40 0.86 15
25 I think that male photojournalists have a better eye for detail than
women photojournalists. 25 -1.19 50 -2.23 57
26 It makes no difference to my editor whether a male or female takes a
photo assignment as long 26 1.50 6 –0.94 48
as the job is done well and meets the deadline.
27 I do not think my editors consider gender when hiring
photographers. 27 -0.42 35 -2.08 56
28 I think the influx of women photojournalists is redefining the kinds
of visual topics covered by papers. 28 0.80 13 0.50 19
29 I have observed that women photojournalists have a stronger instinct
to delve beneath the surface 29 -0.62 44 1.08 9
of the stories they shoot.
30 When a photographic assignment is made at my paper, it goes to the
photojournalist on the staff who 30 0.60 15 -0.72 45
can best tackle the job.
31 I have seen male and female photographers cover sensitive topics
equally well. 31 1.76 3 0.29 23
32 Equipment is becoming lighter so that carrying it is not an issue for
either gender. 32 -0.25 33 -0.65 42
33 I have observed that women photojournalists seem to be intimidated
when they are around more 33 -0.59 42 -0.86 47
aggressive male photojournalists.
34 Male newspaper photographers have less of problem starting out at a
small paper, then moving 34 0.11 27 -0.07 29
their families as they progress to bigger papers than women in similar
circumstances.
35 I find it hard to believe that women can be first-rate sports
photographers. 35 -1.89 57 -1.29 51
36 My experience has been that women photojournalists tend to stay
focused on long-range photographic 36 -0.52 38 0.29 23
projects better than men.
37 My experience has been that it takes a women photographer longer to
do a project than a male 37 -1.19 51 -0.14 33
photographer.
38 Sometimes I think that women have a harder time understanding the
technical side of photography 38 -1.00 46 -0.35 37
than men.
39 As far as I can tell, gender is not factor when determining pay
raises are determined for photographers 39 0.25 21 -0.86 47
at my paper.
40 In my experience, I have found that shift work at newspapers can lead
to unstable family life for both 40 1.19 10 0.00 28
male and female photographers.
41 Handling heavy lighting equipment is a problem for women
photojournalists. 41 -0.61 43 -0.72 45
42 I think women photographers are more dependable than
men. 42 -0.87 45 0.93 13
43 I wish women photojournalists did not have to choose between a
rewarding career and a marriage 43 0.47 17 0.22 25
with children.
44 Both sexes are willing to sacrifice a normal family life for their
photojournalism profession. 44 0.49 16 -0.72 45
45 I have sense women photographers are more committed to their work
than men. 45 -1.23 53 0.93 13
46 Around here, the women photographers are more moody than the
men. 46 -1.81 56 -1.08 50
47 Concerning family versus career, I have seen that it is hard for
women photojournalists to have both 47 0.23 22 -1.37 53
and do it all well.
48 I think that women excel at covering foreign human rights
issues. 48 0.15 25 -0.22 35
49 I think that strong feelings about feminist issues often bias women
photographers' coverage 49 -1.35 54 -0.43 39
of news events.
50 In today's environment, I think more women photojournalists are
willing to be the breadwinner 50 0.43 18 -0.50 40
while their husbands stay home.
51 I have noticed that women take some of the best sports
photographs. 51 -0.04 30 1.51 3
52 The rigors of photojournalism can take a personal toll on both men
and women practitioners. 52 1.43 7 0.94 11
53 Gender makes no difference when I choose who is to do a picture
assignment. 53 0.36 19 0.00 28
54 I have seen men and women photographers cover heart-wrenching stories
equally well. 54 1.87 2 0.94 11
55 For my editors, the consistent quality of a photographer's images,
not gender, makes the greatest 55 1.20 9 1.22 7
difference in who gets the best assignments.
56 Most of the male photographers at my paper are more objective in
their news coverage than women 56 -1.81 55 -1.36 52
photographers.
57 I feel that women photographers have a better eye for details than
men. 57 -1.11 48 1.43 4
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