Cracking the coding ceiling: Looking at gender construction in data journalism from a field theory perspective

This article examines the construction of gender in data journalism from a field theory perspective. It focuses on the internal logic of data journalism as well as on its relationship with the computer field. Our research question explores how male and female data journalists accumulate capital and build careers in data journalism. We conducted 26 qualitative interviews with a cross-national sample of journalists who had varying levels of interest and experience in data journalism. The findings indicate that female journalists see both opportunities and challenges in data journalism. On the one hand, women entered the field of data journalism in an attempt to avoid male-dominated networks, harassment and gender segregation, which limits their opportunities for recruitment and career advancement in traditional journalism. On the other hand, data journalistic skills were discursively gendered. Digital capital, which could be exchanged for greater amounts of symbolic capital, was typically associated with masculinity.