Percent of women covering biz/economics news rises

The percent of women journalists covering business and economics beats rose in 2014 and now slightly outpaces the entire field of journalism, according to data from the Women’s Media Center.

Female reporters comprise 38 percent of journalists covering business and economics stories, up from 36 percent in 2013, according to the Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 report.

On technology beats, female reporters are also 38 percent, up from 35 percent in 2013, according to the study.

Overall in 2014, 37.9 percent of all news was generated by women, up from 37.6 percent in 2013, the study found.

Still, the percent of female business, economics and tech reporters lags behind other beats. Women cover 50 percent of lifestyle stories, 55 percent of education stories and 49 percent of health stories. They cover just 10 percent of sports stories and 35 percent of political stories.

“Our research shows that media needs to do better,” said Julie Burton, president of the Women’s Media Center, in a statement. “The bottom line is this: Overwhelmingly, men still dominate media. Women are 51 percent of the population — but hardly equal partners in telling the story.

“Society is best served when the media accurately reflect the population,” added Burton. “The Women’s Media Center challenges media decision-makers to get truly serious about ensuring balanced, equitable gender and racial representation at every level of their organizations.”

The report also found that 39.2 percent of bylines at The Wall Street Journal were women.

Read the report here.