Junior Scholars in Search of Equity for Women and Minorities

Abstract

This paper reflects upon the 2002 report on the status of women in journalism and mass communications education that updated and expanded the 1972 study by senior authors Rush and Oukrop. Survey data from the 1972 and the 2002 studies are compared in a highlights section. The focus of this monograph is on the demographic group of “junior scholars” from the 2002 database. It argues that the majority of junior scholars perceive discrimination in several aspects of academic life, including the processes of hiring, promotion, and tenure. The major area of discrimination reported is salary, although rewards other than financial are also subject to unequal treatment. Furthermore, junior scholars are still confronted with centuries-old prejudices that define the role of women as caretakers and impose that role upon them, with effects on women's professional development. The working conditions in the academy are finally reflected in the research outcomes and knowledge produced.

The 2002 study report demonstrates that 30 years later women still perceive discrimination. Women and minorities have made great strides in the national organization, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), but discrimination remains a significant issue in the individual academic units of universities. This monograph argues that the Ratio of Recurrent and Reinforced Residuum (R³) consistently fits data about women in journalism and mass communication both in the academy and in media professions around the world.

This paper includes reflections and comments of younger scholars currently at different stages on the academic ladder and makes recommendations for short and long-term actions that new scholars, academic units, and communications organizations should take to help correct inequality.