Women are not allowed the pundit gigs

[cally]

Here's an article telling why. I wonder what the MSM would be like if women had an equal voice.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_03/005908.php

Terrific Women Already Exist....Before launching into this big and fascinating topic, I'd like to thank Kevin Drum for opening up Political Animal to this conversation. Lots of male bloggers have written their "where are the women?" piece, but so far as I know Kevin is the only one to follow up by inviting women writers and editors over to discuss it.

Why are there so few women op-ed writers? Amy Sullivan thinks it's because women are socialized out of the requisite personality traits: confidence verging on arrogance, thick skin, love of combat. At every step, from kindergarten on, girls are rewarded for being docile, quiet, unadventurous and alert to the feelings of others, and boys are rewarded for being the opposite. The end result is that political magazines like the Washington Monthly get lots more pitches from men. Women just don't come knocking.

I've been an editor at The Nation, where I now write a column (my column on this topic is here.) I would certainly agree that men send in more unsolicited articles — almost none of which are usable, by the way, so I'm not sure what that example is supposed to prove. But ultimately it's the editors, not the slush pile or the volume of queries from freelancers, that determine what goes in a magazine. The phone works both ways! From what I have seen, editors are much more open to men and men flourish accordingly. Older editors, who are mostly men, mentor younger men in whom they see their younger selves, and these young men richly pay them back in admiration, even (surely not!) flattery and sycophancy.

Editors socialize with these acolytes, form friendships with them, offer them important career-making assignments (how often have you seen a "think piece" by a woman that wasn't about a "woman's issue"?), encourage them to take risks and give them more chances if they screw up. Marty Peretz at The New Republic was famous for this kind of mentorship, as was the Washington Monthly's Charles Peters. It wouldn't have occurred to me to approach the Washington Monthly when I was a freelancer — partly because my politics were further to the left, but also because it was such a notoriously masculine preserve. Everything about it suggested that I had as much chance of appearing in its pages as in Popular Mechanics. I'm not saying no woman could get the odd assignment at the magazines that mostly publish men, but to make a career you need to be part of the family, you need to be the person to whom the magazine offers plum assignments and sudden opportunities, that gives you a kind of carte blanche (what's on your mind? what's on your plate? when are we going to see that piece on Outer Mongolia?), and that lets you develop as a voice and a personality. Women rarely get that kind of opportunity — and the thing is, they know that. So what looks to you, Amy, like being easily discouraged or not trying is actually women assessing, fairly accurately, their chances.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Molly Ivins, Ann Coulter, Randi Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo,

Judy Woodruff, Donna Brazile, do I need to keep going? There are a LOT of female pundits out there.

[cally]

2. Did you read the article?

WP, NYT, etc. Read the article.

[ultraist]

5. How many women pundits have their own regular shows on major networks?

Judy is more of a reporter than a pundit, IMO. She simply reports on what they tell her.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

7. Actually, she writes a column for CNN as well.

[atommom]

3. Maybe the few established female pundits need to start mentoring

up-and-coming female writers. It is harder for women because of the lack of support, but with encouragement we can get more females in there.

[TWiley]

4. There are plenty of female Republican Pundits.

Just watch CNN, the airwaves are cluttered with high-heels and feminine praises for the bushtapo.

The only female voice that I can remember questioning the bushtapo was Gretta Van Sustren when she worked for CNN. I believe that it was her criticism of the evil rodent that got her canned.

[ultraist]

6. Percentage of women opinion writers is around 25% (should be 50%)

excerpts:

http://www.freepress.net/news/article.php?id=7262

E&P study: percentage of female syndicated pundits barely up since 1999
From Editor and Publisher, March 16, 2005
By Dave Astor

The percentage of female opinion columnists on major-syndicate rosters has risen very slightly since 1999, according to an E&P study.
E&P looked at the Web sites of eight major distributors, and found that 33 of 135 opinion writers — 24.4% — are women. When we previously studied the numbers nearly six years ago, 23.7% of these writers were women (E&P magazine, Aug. 21, 1999).

Growth has obviously slowed, because the 23.7% figure from 1999 rose nearly nine percentage points from 1989 — when 14.8% of op-ed columnists were female. The percentage of female writers has been in the news lately as Creators Syndicate columnist Susan Estrich has criticized the Los Angeles Times for not publishing more women on its op-ed page (E&P Online, March 7).

So why hasn’t there been more syndication-wide growth in female commentators since 1999? Goldstein isn’t sure. She noted that there certainly isn’t a lack of columnist candidates. “We get almost as many unsolicited submissions from women as men who want to do general-interest or harder political columns,” Goldstein told E&P.

[Clark2008]

8. Any wonder why I gave up journalism?

Once I got a divorce, there was no way I could support myself and my son on what reporters get paid - and there was certainly little advancement for female pundits, with better hours and better pay, in the profession.
Then, of course, the media all went to reporting in National Enquirer fashion, as well. I don't think I could hang with that.

[Plaid Adder]

9. And this is why I am so grateful to the DU admins.

They are all guys, but they gave me exactly the kind of freedom described in that fourth paragraph. Hey, you want to do your post-convention column in the form of a fairy tale that's 10 times your normal length? OK, sure, we'll see how that works. And she's right, that's the kind of editorial support that allows you to develop your voice.

I do think that there is some truth to the Amy Sullivan position, though, in that women are less liable to feel like years of banging our heads against the brick wall of the old boys' club is a useful or worthwhile pursuit. I basically haven't even bothered, apart from at DU, not so much because I'm a woman as because I realize the MSM is a closed circuit and I don't have the credentials it would take to break in. I tried breaking into fiction for a few years and found that the constant rejection and frustration bothered me so much that it made me not want to write any more, so I gave up on that too. I've had plenty of people tell me I'm a wuss for having done it, but basicall I looked at the costs and benefits and decided I would rather write and enjoy it than drive myself insane trying to sell myself, and no doubt many other women have made the same choice.

One thing I have noticed as I look at people who repost and talk about the DU columns (I ego-surf, I admit it) is that almost everyone who is encountering a PA column for the first time assumes that I'm male...*even if* the column makes it clear that I'm a woman. People just assume that if you sound authoritative and you don't apologize for yourself, you're a guy.

I have often thought that maybe I coudl start a seminar called "Dyke Fix For Straight Chicks" in which lesbians trained straight women out of some of the male-accommodating behaviors that impede their professional advancement. I see this all the time in the younger women in my profession--they approach things more tentatively, apologize for themselves at the drop of a hat, preface any argument they make with a load of self-deprecating disclaimers, and remind everyone that what they're saying is only their own personal opinion. *Some* of that is very useful when it comes to fostering productive debate; but when you're just setting out your own position or presenting yourself at an interview or at a conference, it can be very disabling.

I had someone tell me once, while congratulating me on a successful presentation, that I came across as so confident that I was almost TOO "butch." I suppose that if I were a straight woman, I would be crushed by a comment like that, but as it is, it didn't bother me--and that's what women in male-dominated professions really have to learn: Not to mind male disapproval. So they call you butch, so they call you a bitch. If they listen to you and respect you, then it's worth it.

OK, done now,

The Plaid Adder

[July]

10. Please DO create your "Dyke Fix For Straight Chicks."

And please create a text I can show my niece, who is a brilliant college freshman who does all the things you describe in your fourth paragraph. It is tremendously disconcerting to see a smart young woman use that "self-defecating" (my late brother's term) behavior.

[Plaid Adder]

11. Unfortunately, I think there is an insoluble marketing problem

For many straight women, especially those your niece's age, the absolute last thing they want is for anyone to think they have anything in common with a lesbian. So enrollment would be small.

It may be that your niece will grow out of some of these things as she spends more time in college and becomes more self-confident, or if she finds a guy who appreciates her intelligence and strength and therefore doesn't have to worry so much about whether she's 'scaring off' men. Meanwhile maybe someone can retrain the men to find assertiveness attractive. That would help a lot.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[July]

12. PA, I hope you write a piece on the topic one day.

Post it here if you think the seminar idea is a nonstarter. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I hope my niece grows out of this. To me, it's incredibly annoying, on top of being worrisome. She'll make an interesting remark and end it with "or whatever" and a giggle, as if she thinks she should undercut a strong statement.

As for men, I know many who do find assertiveness attractive, but there are so many more who don't (it seems to me). If I never have to deal with another pompous male doctor or a banker who directs all conversation at my husband, even when I'm talking, it'll be too soon. I'm getting openly cranky when it happens these days. Seems to be the only thing that works.

C'mon, pass on your techniques. Or write a book -- I think plenty of DUers would buy it. (I saw your post about writing and rejections; what about self-publishing? I'd buy your book.)