Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Reed College of Media

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Jennifer Harker

Committee Member

Lois Raimondo

Committee Member

Chuck Scatterday

Committee Member

Cynthia Gorman

Abstract

Women photojournalists working on the sidelines for the National Football League (NFL) are scarce, despite many advancements made by women in sports media. In the workplace, women face double standards and are expected to manage their emotions differently than their male colleagues. This study aimed to analyze the expectations of women by looking at the different stereotypes and biases that they face as well as the gendered wage gaps. Feminist standpoint theory assisted in the qualitative research approach of this study because it states that women are the only ones that can speak about their experiences since they are the ones affected. This study used semi- structured in-depth interviews to interview women photojournalists working on the sidelines of the NFL to gain insight of their experiences. This study discovered based on the participants response that the major themes are preferential treatment towards their male colleagues exists, there are clear disparities in wages between men and women, and there are emotion management expectations, despite them not being explicitly stated. Looking forward, these themes add to the larger conversation of women in sports media. By taking a deeper dive into the smaller group of women photojournalists, this study was able to determine that to ensure a better future for women in the NFL, more women need to be hired and more women need to be advocates for other women in the industry.

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