Shifting gender gaps in journalism? A longitudinal study on gender segregation in a converging media environment

This study explores whether recent technological changes in journalism have confirmed traditional gender segregation or created new gender divides. Our first research question focuses on the representation of male and female journalists in online and cross-media journalism that has emerged in the increasingly converged media landscape. Our second question looks at digital tools and explores whether social media are used differently by male and female journalists. In five-year intervals, we conducted a longitudinal survey (2003, 2008, 2013) in which all active journalists in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium were invited to participate. The response rate was 45% in 2003 (1026 journalists), 31% in 2008 (682 journalists) and 33% in 2013 (751 journalists). Our findings show that women are underrepresented in online and cross-media journalism: female journalists work for fewer websites compared to male journalists and produce less content for different media sectors. The traditional forms of gender segregation were reflected in online journalism. Female journalists also used fewer microblogs, such as Twitter, to disseminate information.