The Difficult Path of Women Journalists: Forms of Discrimination They Often Face

Research by the Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) together with the Media Regulator Regulation Monitor (PR2Media) reveals the existence of gender discrimination against female journalists in Indonesian media companies.

The report, titled "A Difficult Path to Equality," notes that this form of gender discrimination manifests in assignment of coverage, as felt by 30% of respondents.

In focus group discussions (FGDs) to expand the quantitative data of the research, respondents stated that female journalists are often considered "bait" to initiate conversations and entertain sources. This burden is felt more by female journalists than male journalists.

"Actually, this is a kind of objectification of women. This treatment is part of a strategy when potential sources do not respond to reporter requests," said one respondent.

Other forms of discrimination include promotion, felt by 25% of respondents. The research team stated that the difficulty of female journalists in career advancement has the potential to lower the morale and quality of work of female journalists.

Another difference felt is in remuneration, at 17%. Remuneration includes basic salary, bonuses, or allowances, and health insurance provided by their media organizations.

"At my workplace, female reporters do not receive transportation allowance, while male reporters do. I know this from seeing my friend's payslip. I reported it to the finance department, but there was no response," said one respondent.

Furthermore, employee reduction, which disproportionately affects female journalists, was chosen by 14% of respondents. This case was prevalent during the Covid-19 pandemic.

(See also: Majority of Female Journalists Experienced Sexual Violence and Harassment in 2022, These Are the 10 Types)

There is also discrimination in leave entitlements. 12% of respondents felt they did not receive adequate maternity leave, and 68% did not receive menstrual leave entitlements as stipulated in Law No. 13/2003 concerning Manpower.

"Many female journalists do not take menstrual leave because they are worried about being considered unproductive, hindering the completion of deadlines, and thus becoming victims of layoffs. Sometimes they are also commented on by supervisors," said a respondent in the FGD.

Other discrimination includes editorial meetings, where the ideas of female journalists regarding coverage are not accommodated, as felt by 11% of respondents. Meanwhile, 15% of respondents also felt that suggestions from female journalists regarding company policies were not accommodated.

The research team regrets that these findings are still prevalent in the media industry. This is because media, as organizations that largely oversee public policy and services, should aim for zero tolerance towards gender discrimination in their work environment.

This survey involved 405 female journalist respondents in 34 provinces, conducted online from April 4-18, 2022. The method used was snowball sampling, and it represents the western, central, and eastern regions of Indonesia.

The scope of the research consists of six aspects of gender equality in the workplace: remuneration, assignment of coverage, promotion, leave entitlements, employee reduction, and editorial meetings.

Meanwhile, the FGD was conducted with eight female journalists selected from the survey respondents based on the diversity of types of discrimination, type of media, position or rank, and province of residence.

This discussion was conducted online on May 25, 2022, and each informant was given an identity code to conceal their identity so that they could talk more freely without fear of being recognized by other informants.

(See also: Cases of Violence Against Journalists Increase Ahead of Political Year)