A SUMMIT was held at Dundee’s V&A museum yesterday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of a pioneering organisation for women journalists in Scotland.
Women in Journalism (WIJ) Scotland initially started in the 1990s and returned in 2016 after a hiatus, with the campaign group spearheaded by BBC Scotland’s investigations editor Shelley Jofre, The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent Libby Brooks, and Nicole Kleeman, founder of Firecrest Films.
Since the relaunch event five years ago, which was attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the group has grown to more than 150 members.
Catriona MacPhee, co-chair of WIJ Scotland, said initiatives have included a project to offer support to the next generation of journalists, which has resulted in 45 mentoring pairings.
She added: “More than 50 women have been given broadcast training to redress gender imbalance on our screens, and more than 200 expert women have been given online training to contribute to stories.
“We’ve worked with more than a dozen organisations to improve gender equality and diversity in our media.”
Yesterday’s event saw a series of discussions take place on topics including data journalism, arts journalism and how to get more women into sports journalism.
Scottish journalists Pippa Crerar – who broke the stories about the Downing Street partygate scandal – and Ayesha Hazarika were among those giving speeches at the gathering.
MacPhee and co-chair Gabriella Bennett said the summit was a chance to consider the challenges and opportunities for women working in Scottish media.
“While much has changed for the better for women’s equality, the work we do both publicly and privately to support and advise members tells us there is more to be done,” they said.
“Equal pay, maternity and menopause discrimination, sexual harassment and a culture of misogyny: these issues are still very much at play in journalism in 2022.”
