Women's non-unionised activism in Swedish newsrooms, 1961–89

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article, the trade union newspaper Journalisten is used to analyse the development of women's non-unionised activism in Swedish newsrooms between 1961 and 1989. By adopting a social movement approach to workplace activism, it is shown that the heyday of women journalists’ collective action was in the 1970s. However, individual journalists before and after played a central role in campaigning for change in gendered work cultures, creating a space for feminist consciousness within the profession. Although not all women journalists were feminists, the feminist movement of the late 1960s and 1970s was a source of inspiration for some, giving impetus to non-unionised activism in various newsrooms.