When and why was AWSM formed? AWSM was formed in 1987 by four California sportswriters -- Nancy Cooney, Susan Fornoff, Michele Himmelberg and Kristin Huckshorn -- to create a strong network and advocacy group for the few women who were working at the time in sports media. Forty people attended AWSM’s first annual convention in 1988 in Oakland, Calif.
What is AWSM’s purpose now? AWSM works to promote and increase diversity in sports media through our internship/scholarship program, which has placed more than 90 female college students in paid internships since 1990, as well as through mentoring links and career-enhancement initiatives. We annually pay tribute to individuals who have paved the way for women in sports media with the Mary Garber Pioneer Award, and we help those who encounter roadblocks on the trails yet to be blazed. We hold annual conventions to network, advance our career skills and seek the camaraderie of our colleagues. Who can join AWSM? Our membership includes men and women who work in the sports media, students interested in pursuing sports media careers and all others who support our mission. How many women work in sports media? We don’t have specific numbers. We do have indications that while many more women work in sports media now than 20 years ago, we still have gaps to bridge. For example, a survey of 305 newspapers commissioned by the Associated Press Sports Editors and released in 2006 found that women made up just 12.6 percent of sports staffs. That contrasts with an American Society of Newspaper Editors report, also released in 2006, that found women comprised 37.7 percent of newsroom employees overall. In the APSE survey, just 5 percent of sports editors and 6.7 percent of columnists at newspapers were women. Why are women still struggling to gain entry and to rise to the top of sports media fields? The survey numbers cited above point to failings to adequately pursue gender diversity in sports departments as well as to the existence of glass ceilings. An underlying factor is the difficulty in pursuing a balanced life in an industry that requires everyone to work long hours, nights and weekends, and, in many cases, to travel extensively. A recent study by researchers at Penn State's Center for Sports Journalism found that women stay in the business an average of 10 years. It appears that, in some cases at least, women are not staying in the sports media business long enough to advance into the top positions. Among AWSM's current challenges is to lobby managers and to help women negotiate working situations that would facilitate longer career spans.
Is locker-room access still an issue for women in sports media? Generally, no. The legal decisions in the late 1970s (see historical timeline) and policies adopted by major professional sports leagues in the 1980s set clear precedents and guidelines. We occasionally see isolated incidents in which an athlete, coach, security guard or team official tries to bar a female journalist from equal locker-room access. But such actions, especially when brought to public light, usually are quashed immediately. AWSM stands ready to ensure that access remains equitable and asks anyone who witnesses or experiences otherwise to contact us. Are women in sports media subjected to sexual harassment? Because women in sports media often work in high-profile positions, harassment can come from readers and viewers as well as colleagues and sources. AWSM encourages anyone who feels they have been sexually harassed to immediately report the incident to the proper officials and to enlist AWSM's help.
What is AWSM’s stance on acts of gender discrimination? AWSM stands firmly against discrimination of any kind. If, through due process, discriminatory behavior is judged to have occurred, AWSM would strongly discourage its members from entering a working relationship with the perpetrators of such behavior and/or with any company that would continue to or seek to employ the offenders.
If you have further questions, please e-mail AWSM president Jenni Carlson at president@awsmonline.org.
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