Representation of Indonesian women workers: A critical discourse analysis on the newspapers of nationalist-secular and Islamic ideological perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the representation of women workers in newspaper news discourse that follows the nationalist-secular ideology and the Islamic ideology perspectives. The method of this research is a qualitative content analysis that views the text as a symbolic message and requires interpretations according to the context. Complementing the research method, a critical discourse analysis approach is also used. The subjects of this research are female workers found in newspaper news discourse with Islamic ideology as a background and newspapers with nationalist-secular ideology. Data were analyzed through critical discourse analysis techniques in the following steps: description, interpretation, and explanation. This research still considers checking reliability and validity. Data analysis is also complemented by the confirmation of linguists and peers (triangulation of sources). The main findings of this study show that the practice of discourse in the Rakyat Merdeka Newspaper (RMN), which follows the nationalist-secular ideology perspective, represents marginal women. In RMN, the representation is used as a plea for the actions and traits of male actors or employers. The motive revealed from this phenomenon is to follow the demand of the market. On the other hand, the Republika Newspaper (RN), which tends to follow the Islamic ideology perspective, represents the motive of advocacy for women workers. This is the implication of the values of Islamic ideology carried out by the RN as mentioned in its vision and mission. The findings are also the antithesis of the view that Islam isolates women in the social sphere of society.