Women newspaper editors in NZ: Short term love affair

Abstract

New Zealand has had three woman prime ministers, and was the first country in the world to give women the vote, but there is still a gender gap in leadership in the traditionally staid daily newspapers industry. One-third of the country’s daily newspapers have never had a female editor. The low ratio of woman editors is incongruous with the fact the majority of journalism students are female, and a large number of new hires are women. This study interviewed every woman who has held the position of daily newspaper editor, which totals only 15. The good news is that currently there are more women in editorships than ever before, but this still represents only 29 percent of daily editors. Attitudinal interviews show the editors love the job, but quit after only a few short years. However, this may be changing.