New Reuters Institute research sheds light on women and leadership and race and leadership in the media

Two new reports from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) provide a detailed insight into women in editorial leadership roles and the racial and ethnic composition of newsroom management.

The ‘Race and leadership in the news media 2023’ fact sheet builds on research conducted by the Institute in 2020 and examines the percentage of people of colour in top editorial positions.

It uses a strategic sample of 100 major online and offline news outlets from five different markets across four continents: Brazil, Germany, South Africa, the UK and the US.

And it reveals that 23% of the 81 top editors across the 100 brands covered are people of colour. This is despite the fact that - on average - 44% of the general population across all five countries are people of colour.

Other key findings include:

• In Brazil and Germany, as in 2022, none of the outlets in the sample have a person of colour as top editor.
• In the UK, 6% of those in top editorial positions are people of colour. In the US, the percentage of top editors of colour remained the same as in 2022, at 33%. In South Africa, 80% of top editors are people of colour, up from 73% in 2022.
• Like in previous years, in every single country covered, the percentage of people of colour in the general population remains higher than among top editors.

Meanwhile, the ‘Women and leadership in the news media 2023: evidence from 12 markets……’ fact sheet analyses the gender breakdown of top editors in a strategic sample of 240 major online and offline news outlets in 12 different markets across five continents.

The research shows that only 22% of the 180 top editors across the 240 brands covered are women, despite the fact that, on average, 40% of journalists in the 12 markets are women. In 2022, this figure was 21% across the same markets.

Other key findings include:

• Among the 38 new top editors appointed across the brands covered, 26% are women. In the US and Finland, half of the new top editors appointed in the past year are women, but in many other markets, few are.
• In all 12 markets, the majority of top editors are men, including in countries where women outnumber men among working journalists.
• The percentage of women in top editorial positions varies significantly from market to market, from 5% in Mexico to 44% in the US.

Both reports were authored by RISJ research fellows Dr Kirsten Eddy and Dr Amy Ross Arguedas; RISJ Director of the Journalist Programme Mitali Mukherjee; and RISJ Director Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring the future of journalism worldwide.