Sexism, science-writing and solutions: Charting the future

Sexism — whether gender bias, work-related harassment, or inequities in pay or advancement — continues to be a major concern among science writers. Yes, there has been progress in recent decades, but the playing field is hardly level. Disparities in staff jobs, assignments, bylines, and leadership in print, broadcasting and digital media; a growing number of freelancers; and a sometimes hostile Internet/social media environment for women are changes in journalism and science writing that foster new versions of old problems. Recently NASW has tackled this issue head-on. A “XX Question” plenary session at ScienceWriters2013 gave voice to myriad gender-related concerns. An NASW-funded ”Women in Science Writing: Solutions Summit,” held at MIT in June 2014, provided a forum to replace hand wringing with potential solutions; NASW’s quarterly journal featured the conference on its cover. A ScienceWriters2014 workshop examined the need to increase racial and ethnic diversity in science writing. This 2015 session will keep up the momentum, bringing together some architects of these earlier efforts in a panel discussion and audience brainstorming session addressing, “Where do we go from here?” Some solutions underway/under consideration include advancing a Freelance Bill of Rights; an NASW database on employment rights and sexual harassment; training for employers and freelancers; mentoring of younger science writers. Efforts to improve the professional climate for a new generation of science writers that is more diverse in gender and race will be important for the future of NASW and other journalism organizations; for the workplace environment; and for the career advancement of individual writers.