Barriers Disabled Journalists Face in The Workplace
For an industry that prides itself on being something of a watchdog particularly for the ‘underdog’, you’d be forgiven for thinking that journalism was a diverse industry. Statistics have changed only slightly over the last few years when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
According to a report authored by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), journalism is still much of an exclusive profession; 90% of journalists were born in the UK, with 92% from white ethnic groups. 16% have a work-limiting health problem or disability. And 89% have a degree or higher level qualification. Read the full report here.
When it comes to disability, anyone reading this will be used to the concept of the ‘tick box’ approach. Organisations so often employ the one token disabled person to tick the box off on the ‘diversity and inclusion’ tick list, whereas we all know that this approach is just tokenistic, and lacking in nuance. Other hallmarks of the tick box approach may be doing nothing about the barriers that may block the path to recruitment, even when it comes to legal obligations under the Equality Act.
We spoke to 3 disabled journalists to find out more about the industry, the barriers to inclusion, and what needs to be done to better support disabled journalists.
Lucy Webster
Lucy Webster, 27, is a freelance journalist who covers disability and politics. She is a power-chair user who started blogging as a teenager; this led to a position at Prospect Magazine. She later won the Guardian’s Student Columnist of the Year award, which led to being invited to apply for the BBC’s disability scheme, Extend. Prior to going freelance, she spent 4 years at the BBC. She also writes a regular newsletter on Substack.
When asked about barriers she has faced in the industry, Webster said: “I think most obviously, when I started out lots of smaller magazines were in inaccessible offices, making it hard to get work experience. Luckily this is less of an issue with bigger outlets. There’s also been a few issues of pigeonholing, or conversely not being allowed to report disability because I was seen as biased. I am sure there are some jobs/opportunities I have been excluded from, but I have no evidence for that, just a feeling!”
A portrait photo of Lucy Webster. She is a white woman with short blonde hair. She is wearing a green top and a silver necklace with a star on it. She is smiling at the camera.
Thanks to the Equality Act, employers and other organisations are required to implement reasonable adjustments for disabled individuals. Describing herself as “lucky” to have had previous understanding employers, Webster noted “The only thing was, I got permission to work from home, but was never given the required tech. Then during the pandemic, it became possible overnight!”
For anyone who has a disability that has lived through the Covid 19 pandemic so far, the frustration is almost tangible; to have asked for requirements like this for so long, but for working from home to be granted seemingly overnight, just to benefit the majority.
Asked what she’d like people in the newsroom to know when it comes to disability and being accommodations, Webster said: “Conditions fluctuate; just because I can do something one day, doesn’t mean I can another day.”
Amy Barrett
Amy Barrett, 26, is an editorial assistant for BBC Science Focus. She has had ME since the age of 16, and landed her current position a year after graduating. Having studied for a degree in Publishing with Creative Writing, she’d worked for the university’s magazine and various other websites.
Asked about the barriers she had faced, Barrett said: “A lot of stuff happens outside of work hours - social events provide [an] opportunity to bring up story ideas, ask for feedback you might not get normally, etc. But when you’re energy limited, it’s a choice between working (and earning money) but missing these events, or taking the hit in the hope it’ll benefit you in the future…” She added that, despite the popularity of online events during the various lockdowns in the UK, now you have to be physically in attendance, with a lot of events happening in London.
A portrait photo of Amy Barrett. She is a white woman with long dark blonde hair. She is wearing a green top with short sleeves. She has her one side of her hair tucked behind her ear, and is smiling at the camera.
She also added: “For science and health journalists, you may find your own illness is being discussed as a ‘story’. Your colleagues, if they know, may want you to write about new research/developments, even if you’d prefer not to blur the line between personal and professional. Or, you might find yourself in a room where others are discussing a new study in such a removed way, you wonder whether they even consider there may be someone in the team with that condition.”
Noting her experience of acquiring reasonable adjustments has been straightforward, which she describes as “rare”, she said: “I think, whenever I have asked for something, my inclusion of how and why it’ll improve my work has helped ‘convince’ people it’s needed. For example, I have an ergonomic keyboard and cushioned armrests - these help me type without pain, reduce the amount of time I need to take as rests between tasks, and generally reduce errors in my typing due to pain!”
Asked what she’d like people in the newsroom to know about accommodations, she said: “do not assume everyone in the room is neurotypical and abled. Equally, don’t assume your colleagues will ‘out’ themselves for a story - our stories are much more than a clickbait title!”
Cathy Reay
Cathy Reay, 36, is a freelance journalist, having previously worked in-house for other outlets. She also has Achondroplasia Dwarfism. Having completed a journalism BA in London, she’d gotten a job working for a disability magazine. She said: “After working for 2 years as an in-house journalist I tried so hard to get another job in London, some of them I was overqualified for, but [I] had no luck. I don’t know [to] what degree ableism played a part in that, but I know it was a part of it.”
A portrait photo of Cathy Reay. She is a white woman who has Achondroplasia Dwarfism. She has brown and pink hair - it is buzzed short on the sides with a long pink quiff on the top. She is wearing a purple blazer which hangs over a black shirt and black crop top. She is smiling at the camera.
She ended up moving to Luxembourg just to stay in the industry. The disability magazine had been owned by one of the largest disability charities, she said, making it easy to implement reasonable adjustments. She added: “In other jobs which haven’t been disability related it has sometimes been more difficult, but knowing the process and Access To Work helps, as I can always choose these things independently.”
Asked what she’d like people in the newsroom to know about accommodations, she said: “That nobody works at the same speed, that disabled people often have to take breaks due to pain, fatigue, toileting and so on - and that’s okay - that high pressure environments can be really tough on disabled bodies, and to always check in on people and ensure they’re supported as they want to be, that different disabled people have different needs, and the best thing to do, always, is ask, not assume.”
Written by Lydia Wilkins