Gender equity in Lebanon’s news industry: The chasm between management’s perspectives and women journalists’ experience

Abstract

Senior management’s lack of knowledge and acknowledgement of gender injustice in journalism organizations has negative implications for the advancement of women journalists’ right to a hostile-free and equitable workplace. This study examines news leadership’s perceptions of gender inequity in the Lebanese news industry. The qualitative study relied on a focus group with sixteen senior Lebanese news managers from major journalism institutions in the country. It found the perceptions of most news managers to be inconsistent with extant research that has documented the hostile gendered work environment in the Lebanese news industry. Many of the issues that women journalists in Lebanon face, including gender discrimination, glass ceiling effects, pay inequity and sexual harassment, were neither acknowledged nor sufficiently addressed in the policies and practices of these organizations, partly due to this lack of awareness about women’s status in the industry and society.