The "ProQuote" initiative: women journalists in Germany push to revolutionize newsroom leadership

Using standpoint epistemology and critical mass theories this study examines outcomes of the 2012 ProQuote [ProQuota] initiative in Germany demanding at least 30% women in leadership per newsroom. In-depth interviews with 53 journalists in 21 newsrooms show that ProQuote boosted women's ascensi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFeminist media studies Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 1011 - 1028
Main Authors Eckert, Stine, Assmann, Karin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 04.07.2022
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
affirmative action
Critical mass
diversity
Epistemology
equality
gender
Germany
Journalism
Journalists
Leadership
Newsrooms
Normalization
Proquote
quota
Stigma
Tokenism
Women
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Summary:Using standpoint epistemology and critical mass theories this study examines outcomes of the 2012 ProQuote [ProQuota] initiative in Germany demanding at least 30% women in leadership per newsroom. In-depth interviews with 53 journalists in 21 newsrooms show that ProQuote boosted women's ascension into leadership by triggering and sustaining a debate about gender in newsroom leadership. This contributed to the normalization and legitimization of women in top positions, somewhat alleviating the stigma of tokenism. With critical mass in a given newsroom, women's standpoints have entered the discourse on leadership. More representation of women of different backgrounds and overall diversity in leadership are still needed.
ISSN:1468-0777
1471-5902
DOI:10.1080/14680777.2021.1881984