‘A community of amazing women on your side’
The Duchess of Cornwall chats to attendees at the event, including Gemma Murphy. Picture: Elaine Livingstone
WIJ Scotland recently took part in a mentoring day at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, in partnership with Women in Journalism UK. The event was attended by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and included a series of discussions and panel talks.
Here student journalist Gemma Murphy describes her experience of the day and of taking part in WIJ Scotland’s mentorship scheme.
When I first learned I'd been chosen as a student journalist mentee I never imagined I'd end up sitting on a minibus headed for Dumfries House on my way to meet the Duchess of Cornwall. Nor that I'd be surrounded by 15 of the UK's most successful women journalists.
But it did, and I’m so grateful that it did.
Panel session led by The Mirror editor Alison Phillips, featuring WIJ Scotland co chair Catriona MacPhee. Picture: Elaine Livingstone
Upon arrival at Dumfries House, we were given a tour of the stunning grounds and informed of all the amazing work that it does with The Prince’s Foundation, including giving people the opportunity to learn great skills whilst also creating a sense of community among the students. This felt similar to the Women in Journalism Scotland mentoring scheme, so the location was a perfect choice for this incredible event.
It was also a chance for guests to get to know each other and for me to try and pick up all their tips on not only how to get into the world of journalism but how to succeed in this male-dominated industry. In the afternoon, a more formal mentoring session got us talking about how to know our own worth and how to get a raise - and make sure we get paid for it. Is there anything better than great feminist chat with strong women over some tea? I think not.
Wondering how I, a 21-year-old student who originally chose to study journalism on the basis that it sounded “cool”, managed to have afternoon tea with journalists like Kirsty Wark in the first place? It was all thanks to my own fabulous mentor, Gabriella Bennett, co-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland. I was lucky enough to be chosen by Gabriella as her mentee after applying through the University of Strathclyde, where I study Journalism, Media and Communications with English. In the space of just a few months, Gabriella has helped me have my first piece of writing published - in The Herald, nonetheless. Yes, my mum and I both cried a little.
WIJ Scotland committee members. Picture: Elaine Livingstone
Gabriella has boosted my confidence and helped me fight my imposter syndrome, which as we discussed at Dumfries House, many women struggle with. Being mentored by Gabriella has made me so determined to be a great journalist and hopefully have the opportunity to mentor someone myself one day, because it’s such an incredible thing.
On top of all this, thanks to Gabriella and Women in Journalism Scotland, I got to meet really amazing women who have sparked a fire in me that won’t be easily put out. This event only emphasised to me the importance of having women’s voices out there, and I want mine to be heard too.
I want to be a part of making the changes that we spoke about during the panel session with Hannah Ajala, Kirsty Wark and Catriona MacPhee. Women are doing amazingly well in the field of journalism, all the women sat in Dumfries House are proof of this, but there needs to be more women in senior positions and better support for women going through the menopause, as Catriona pointed out. Women in Journalism events like this one allow us to see how far we have come as women, but they also create a space for all kinds of women to come together to work on these changes that still need to be made. This session was definitely a highlight of the day for me because it made me determined to be part of that work, which thanks to the Women in Journalism Scotland mentoring scheme I can.
So, it turns out journalism is just as cool as I originally thought. And besides, it’s even cooler when you’ve got a community of amazing women at your side who want nothing more than to see you succeed.