Senior government officials had been traveling on board the plane, making the disaster a top news story. The female journalist had just wrapped up a report, so she was available to rush to the scene. In journalism, getting good assignments goes hand in hand with career advancement. There is power where women, news and the Internet come together. While many women journalists said they should support other women at work, there is a gap between what women journalists said they should do and what they actually do.
Some women talk of feeling alienated by other women once they have been promoted.
Others mention female supervisors who do little to help female colleagues gain the skills they need to move ahead. Women journalists might want to engage in support of and for other women, but often cannot realistically take on such a role. For those dealing with the pressures of a decision-making post on top of continuing to prove themselves, taking the time to work on behalf of others is another demand on their schedule. Yet, women journalists aspiring to leadership can become easily discouraged without the example of other women journalists who have reached management. Nearly half of the women journalists under the age of 30 who responded to the IWMF survey earlier this year indicated that a lack of role models is a major obstacle to their advancement.