Women Journalists of Color: Present Without Power
The Voice of Experience

"Use your difference as a strength; find opportunities to show your value. Talent and hard work triumph over anything."
48 year old Hispanic manager, South Atlantic U.S.

As the survey has demonstrated, most comments from women journalists of color portray resilience bred from years of experience. They have learned that hard work, a supportive manager, and a positive attitude can be keys to success, but they have also learned that within the newsroom, resentment, exclusion and hostility are the flip sides of those coins.

Their comments also reflect the concern that many younger women, who may have grown up without ever experiencing egregious examples of racism and sexism, may be ill-prepared to enter news organizations still grappling with the diversity issue. As their life experiences have shown, it is rarely possible to escape a potential challenge to one's abilities based on race in an atmosphere where diversity efforts are still questioned or resented.

Often, journalism educators have a major influence on the lives and careers of their students. The situation in America's colleges and universities is even more bleak. A 1995-1996 survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA found that only 14.9 percent of journalism and mass communication faculty were minorities.

That same survey revealed that 34 percent of journalism and mass communication faculty were women. Furthermore, minorities and women rarely hold tenure-track positions. Women educators tend to have part-time or temporary status and minorities, in general, are most often found at instructor and assistant professor levels.

So when asked to advise journalism educators working with younger women of color, and to those young women themselves, survey respondents generously offered provocative, heartfelt wisdom. It may also serve to enlighten managers who truly want to empathize and open a dialogue with the women journalists of color on their staffs.