We are delighted to announce that WIJ Scotland will be holding an industry summit at the V&A Dundee on July 23 to mark our five-year anniversary.

Our keynote speaker will be The Daily Mirror political editor Pippa Crerar (soon to be Guardian political editor), who hails from Scotland and is known for her outstanding political coverage, including breaking the Barnard Castle scoop and many of the Downing Street 'party gate' scandals.

There will also be a host of other inspirational names attending the event at Dundee’s stunning waterfront museum, including political broadcaster and comedian Ayesha Hazarika, who will give an after dinner insight into her career in politics.

This will be an unmissable chance to look back over the achievements of the past five years since the volunteer-run organisation was established by Shelley Jofre of BBC Scotland and Libby Brooks, The Guardian's Scotland correspondent.

The day also features a panel discussion on levelling the playing field for women in sports journalism featuring Heather Dewar, broadcast and print sports journalist, Sophie Goodwin, sports reporter at the Press and Journal, and Ginny Clark, a freelance sports journalist who was appointed Scotland's first female Sports Editor of a national newspaper 20 years ago.

Following a break for tea and coffee there will be a panel discussion on the future of arts journalism with Joyce McMillan, arts journalist and columnist, Arusa Qureshi, music writer and editor, Jan Patience, freelance arts journalist and Anna Burnside, arts journalist at The Sunday Mail.

Guests will also be invited to take a guided tour of a new exhibition uncovering the story of Valentines, bringing together the disciplines of photography, illustration and print design.

After an afternoon of panel discussions and mingling, there will be a three-course gala dinner at Tatha, V&A Dundee’s restaurant with glorious views over the River Tay.

The event will kick off at 2.30pm with registration and name badge collection in the auditorium on the upper floor. Panel discussions will take place in the afternoon, speeches from 7pm and dinner is at 8pm.

WIJ Scotland now has around 150 members and 300 subscribers working across the industry. We can't wait to see you there.

Tickets are priced from £40 for members and since numbers are limited we expect this event to sell out fast. For all the details including how to book, click here.

With thanks to our headline sponsor DC Thomson.

Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJ Scot) is launching a campaign to tackle gender inequality in Scottish sports journalism. We're doing this for many reasons but one is that we've gathered info on the current gender split in Scottish print titles and out of around 95 permanent staff positions, just three are held by women. While the balance is better in broadcast there is still work to be done there too. During the pandemic when cuts were made across some journalism sectors, it became clear that sports journalism often offers the most stable, secure, well-paid work and talented, hard working women are missing out on this.  

Sexist abuse, pay disparity, macho culture, male-dominated meetings and management structures, lack of opportunity, tokenism, lack of flexibility, barriers to a career path are all reasons cited by our members as deterrents to sports journalism, and frustratingly, as reasons for leaving by those few women who make it into the sector. 

There are numerous causes and negative consequences of this gender imbalance but from speaking to our members we realise it’s pervasive, systemic and perpetual. For this campaign we are interested in solutions. 

Mentoring

The first part of our campaign was to ring-fence five sports journalism mentorships with WiJ Scotland’s 2022 scheme. These pairings are proving successful and it’s clear that mentoring is an area which has tangible benefits for up-and-coming female sports journalists, and something we hope to expand on. 

Online community and support 

We have also set up an online community for our mentors, mentees, and sports journalism members and students for the sharing of opportunities, advice, links and to highlight work done by members. 

Jobs, work experience, shadowing, training

In order to level the playing field, we want to share as many opportunities with female sports journalists as possible. We are actively seeking these opportunities with media partners and approach editors directly to ask for support, but while we source these roles, if you are working in this field and would like to help our campaign by offering an opportunity then please do get in touch at wijscotland@gmail.com

Broadcast training

Past attendees from our broadcast training workshops have told us of their success in sports broadcasting as a direct result, therefore we are organising further sessions with media outlets to boost confidence, practise interviews and familiarise the next crop of sports commentators with studios, cameras, microphones and broadcast etiquette. If you are a potential collaborator, we want to hear from you. 

Stemming the tide - working with schools and sports clubs

Our members and research have told us that the problem needs to be addressed earlier than university and college level. If young women who are interested in sports don’t see journalism as a viable career (and a possible alternative to professional sports), they will not choose that path. We want to promote sports journalism as a career option by engaging with youth sports clubs and schools and holding presentations to show that women are needed and indeed, do excel in this field. We are working with several partners to pilot a presentation. More on that soon. 

Academic Research

Our campaign has benefited greatly from input by two Masters students from the University of Strathclyde. Hannah Nicol and Rowan Clark have carried out interviews with student journalists and those working in the industry to quantify the barriers and inform solutions. Their fascinating findings will be posted here shortly. 

Steering Group

We are pleased to partner with several women in other key sectors who are helping us to shape and inform this campaign.

Catriona MacPhee - Co-chair, Women in Journalism Scotland

Anna Burnside - Treasurer, Women in Journalism Scotland

Professor Karen Boyle - Head of Gender Studies at Strathclyde University

Maureen McGonigle - Founder of Scottish Women in Sport

Elizabeth McLaughlin - Senior Lecturer in Sports Journalism, University of West Scotland

Claire Thomson - Sports Editor at Glasgow Guardian, WiJS 2022 mentee

Gabby Pieraccinni - Athletics Journalist and WiJS 2021 mentee

Moira Gordon - Sports writer for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News.

Fiona McKay - Journalism Course Leader, Robert Gordon University

Members of the WiJ Scotland committee. L-R: Raj Gill, Anna Burnside; Jan Patience; Catriona MacPhee; Gabriella Bennett and Georgia Edkins

Our co-chair Gabriella Bennett writes about the parallels between International Women’s Day and Women in Journalism Scotland

For more than 100 years International Women's Day (IWD) has strived to celebrate female achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.   

Those objectives are also the bedrock of what we do at Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJS). I joined in 2019, although becoming a WiJS member had been on my to-do list for years. When I finally got in touch with co-chairs Jan Patience and Catriona MacPhee it was to see if we could collaborate on a mentoring scheme. The scheme was something I’d wanted to launch for ages before WiJS empowered me with the tools, structure and support I needed.   

The first thing that struck me was how warmly I was welcomed. It can be tough to make new friends in your thirties, especially within an established group, but here were dozens of brilliant women journalists who were just as great in person and on Zoom as their Twitter personas suggested. Time after time I saw how they lifted each other up while pursuing shared and individual goals. It made me want to do the same.  

Since then I’ve been able to see just how much support the organisation provides on a daily basis. In fact, I’d say that support was WiJS’s leitmotif. Before I joined the committee I wasn’t entirely sure what WiJS did, only that I liked the idea of a body that supported women in the industry. Now I know that alongside more visible campaigning – organising events, facilitating training, researching discrimination and so on – an enormous amount of work goes on behind the scenes. I had no idea that members could contact the committee for tailored tips on career progression, for example. Or that those experiencing difficulties at work could receive guidance.  

Then, in the summer of 2021, when the marvellous Jan stood down as co-chair, I took on the role. Catriona, my fellow co-chair and partner in crime, showed me the ropes while inspiring me to go the extra mile with her drive and determination. Catriona and I also work together on the WiJS mentoring scheme, which we were able to get off the ground just a few months after I joined. I had a mentor early in my career and have seen first-hand how transformative the relationship can be. Our mentors help their mentees bag bylines in international publications, secure new jobs and fortify confidence. Mentors say the process reminds them how much helpful advice they have to give. 

None of what we do at WiJS would be possible without each other. On the committee we’ve got decades of experience; there’s no issue someone hasn’t already faced. And on the rare occasions we do find ourselves in new territory the committee problem-solves with cool logic. They’re like a twelve-headed agony aunt, except with faster shorthand.  

Being part of WiJS is the best thing I’ve done in my career. While we still have work to do to in the activism goals we share with IWD, today we celebrate the remarkable achievements of women journalists. They’re what keep us going and have been especially precious during the pandemic. WiJS's successes are a direct result of the collective power of women. That spurs me on just as much on IWD as it did the day I joined.   

It’s time to dig out your entries for this year’s Scottish Press Awards - and once again we are offering support to encourage more women to enter. 

WIJ Scotland will support 20 paid entry fees for members who want to enter the Awards, allocated on a lottery basis. 

In past years, there have been many more men shortlisted than women. Hundreds of talented women journalists working across Scotland should be recognised for their work, but often don’t put themselves forward for these types of awards.

This year WIJ Scotland will be again sponsoring the Nicola Barry Award, which was launched in 2017 in memory of one of Scotland’s most respected journalists.

Last year’s winner was Laura Smith of The Sunday Post for her “exceptional” work on youngsters’ mental health, birth companions and caring for vulnerable children.

The closing date for the Scottish Press Awards is 3rd March 2022 and you can find details of all the categories here.

To apply for entry fee support from WIJ Scotland, please send an email with a note of your entries to wijscotland@gmail.com and we will respond to successful applicants with details for payment.

On 22 February WIJ Scotland is also hosting an online session on the Scottish Press Awards, with a panel of guests to help explain the judging process and answer questions about how to apply, how to decide what to submit and to give you the confidence boost you might need to throw your hat in the ring.

You can register for the free event here.

L-R: Laura Kuenssberg; Chitra Ramaswamy; Catherine Salmond; Eve Livingston; Elaine Livingstone; Kathryn Samson; Nicki McCourt and Jan Patience

Last year, Women in Journalism Scotland launched its inaugural mentoring scheme to help nurture the talents of early and mid-career journalists.

Over the past 12 months our mentors have helped their mentees bag national bylines, build contacts and grow their confidence.

In fact, the scheme proved so successful we’ve decided to expand it for 2022. In our second intake, 18 influential women journalists have agreed to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation.

Their names are among the most recognisable in Scottish and UK media, spanning print, broadcast, digital, radio and photojournalism.

Our 2022 mentors

Laura Kuenssberg has been the BBC's political editor since 2015, when she became the first woman, and youngest journalist to take on the role; leading the corporation's political coverage. She works across a wide range of BBC programmes; in particular, the 6 and 10 o Clock news and the Today programme.

Chitra Ramaswamy is a journalist and author. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy, published by Saraband in April 2016, won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize. She writes mainly for The Guardian, is the restaurant critic for The Times (Scottish edition), a columnist for the National Trust for Scotland, and broadcasts for BBC Radio Scotland.

Catherine Salmond is editor of Scotland on Sunday. She has worked in the news industry for 16 years, across digital and print. Her previous roles include live editor (The Scotsman) and assistant news editor (Edinburgh Evening News). Her route into journalism was through local weeklies, with posts in Dumfries and Galloway and Fife.

In Susan Egelstaff's previous life she was an international badminton player but after retiring from sport following the London 2012 Olympic Games, she became involved in journalism. She's been a writer and columnist for The Herald for ten years, covering primarily Olympic sports, and is also a regular contributor on BBC Radio Scotland.

Nicki McCourt was lucky enough to be offered a two-week placement with STV News after graduating from Napier University in 1992. She left eight years later. The subsequent decade was spent as a director with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She’s since returned to Scotland and to STV News as head of news-gathering and planning with responsibility for a team of reporters and camera operators.

Moira Gordon is a sports writer for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News.

Jan Patience has been a journalist for over 30 years. After spending 15 years writing about visual art for The Herald, she is now art critic for The Sunday Post. She co-wrote a biography about the artist George Wyllie in 2016. In 2020, she co-founded Eardley 100, set up to mark the centenary of Anglo-Scottish painter Joan Eardley.

Eve Livingston is a freelance social affairs journalist. She has written for The Guardian, The Independent and VICE among many others and has appeared on TV and radio including BBC Woman's Hour and ITV News. In 2018 she was one of Young Women Scotland's 30 under 30, and in 2019 she was shortlisted for an Orwell Prize and Amnesty Media Award.

Gabriella Bennett is editor of Alba, the lifestyle section of The Times Scotland, where she writes a weekly column, and another for the Sunday Times Home. She was named travel writer of the year at the 2021 Scottish Press Awards and regional property journalist of the year at the 2021 UK Property Press Awards. She is also a best-selling author.

Sarah Gillespie got her start in journalism as an editorial assistant at a Scottish wedding magazine in 2013. She then worked as a features writer, online editor, and digital content manager. In 2020, she changed focus in the industry to become a lecturer in Journalism, Media & Communication, and Professional Writing Skills at City of Glasgow College.

Catriona MacPhee is a senior journalist with the BBC working on Question Time and Debate Night. She previously worked for STV News managing the Dundee newsroom. Prior to working in broadcast news Catriona was in print journalism for nearly a decade, cutting her teeth as a cub reporter at The Oban Times then as a roving Highland reporter at The Press and Journal.

Anna Burnside has worked at the Gorgie-Dalry Gazette, the Sunday Times and everything in between. She has been a reporter, a sub editor, a section editor and an editor. Over a couple of stints as a freelance she had bylines in national papers, trade papers and women's magazines. She is currently a feature writer at the Daily Record. She also appears on TV and radio and chairs live events.

Shona Gossip is the live news editor at the Press and Journal and Evening Express in Aberdeen. She started out at the P&J as a trainee and has covered more than a decade of the north of Scotland's biggest stories. She enjoys working with the trainees within the newsroom and is looking forward to being part of the WiJS mentoring scheme.

Kathryn Samson has been STV’s Westminster correspondent since 2019. She presents political coverage on STV News at Six, which is Scotland’s most watched news programme, and on Scotland Tonight. She’s covered all the major political events of the last decade, including the Scottish independence referendum, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elaine Livingstone is a freelance photographer based in Glasgow working on a variety of photographic assignments for a wide range of clients including national press, magazines, publishers, institutes, and organisations. Elaine’s photography career began in journalism; she is the former picture-editor of the award-winning Sunday Herald newspaper and The Herald magazine.

Talat Yaqoob is a consultant, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a member of the First Minister’s Advisory Council on Woman and Girls. Her experience spans education, women’s rights, anti-racism, workplace equality and inclusion, and political/civic participation. She is also a commentator, appears regularly on BBC Scotland’s Seven Days programme and has written for several publications. Talat is the co-founder of Women 50:50 and Pass the Mic, the national project to amplify women of colour’s expertise in Scotland’s media.

Christine Lavelle is the Scottish political editor of The Scottish Sun, where she has worked for over eight years covering news, politics and features. She previously spent two years at PA Scotland, and started her career at Deadline news agency in Edinburgh after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism.

Natasha Radmehr is a freelance journalist who writes features and op-eds for publications including The Times, The Sunday Post, The Herald, Homes & Interiors Scotland and Platinum. She has worked in Scottish media for 10 years, and formerly edited a leading wedding magazine.

Amy Irons is a Scottish TV and radio presenter who presents across sport, news and entertainment. Amy has worked on some of the biggest programmes in recent years including BBC One’s Hogmanay and Sports Personality of the Year. On screen she presents The Adventure show, The Edit, sport on The Nine and Sportscene. In radio Amy has hosted the Capital breakfast show as well as Off the Ball and BBC Five Live’s breakfast show.

Alison Conroy is a digital journalist with Sky Sports News in Scotland. She made the switch after 10 years working as a sports reporter then sports editor at Radio Clyde.

Maggie Ritchie is a freelance features and news writer, columnist, and award-winning author. Her 33 years in the media include seven at the Daily Record.

How to apply

To apply to have your media career shaped by this opportunity, fill in the below application form by December 13 2021.

Apply here.

Who can apply?

Eighteen early-to-mid career women journalists working in Scotland will be chosen to take part in a year-long programme, which will include at least an hour a month of their mentor’s time, most likely on Zoom. WiJ Scotland defines a mid career journalist as someone who feels they still have space to grow in their career and has specific goals they feel a mentor would help with.

One of our goals this year is to boost numbers of women of colour journalists. We welcome applications from women of colour student journalists.

Applicants must be a member of Women in Journalism Scotland. If you are not yet a member of Women in Journalism Scotland, join here.

Why mentoring?

We believe mentoring has the ability to change the future of journalism. That future features a more confident, diverse workforce, a greater prevalence of female voices and more women in senior positions.

Speaking about the scheme, Women in Journalism Scotland co-chair, Gabriella Bennett, said:

"By expanding our mentoring pool we hope to support more up-and-coming women journalists, who, evidence shows, will face discrimination in terms of pay and promotions during their careers.

"We were thrilled to hear of the success stories from last year's pairings and are delighted so many industry-leading mentors are willing to take part in 2022.”

How is the mentoring scheme judged?

Applicants will be selected by a panel led by the WiJ Scotland co-chairs. The panel will study all the answers to the questions posed in each application and base its final decision on the journalists proving how much they would benefit from the programme. An additional factor will be which applicant best fits the skills and experience of the 18 mentors.

When will I hear back?

We aim to contact all applicants by the end of December. Successful applicants will then be invited to an introductory workshop in January.

Laura Smith (centre) with the award presented by Nicola’s husband Alastair Murray (Picture: Jeff Holmes)

“In a truly outstanding field, her work was exceptional, authoritative, humane and deeply passionate.”

That was just some of the praise for the work of Laura Smith of The Sunday Post - this year’s winner of the Nicola Barry Award.

The category at the Scottish Press Awards is sponsored by Women in Journalism Scotland in memory of one of Scotland’s most respected journalists, who died in 2017.

It recognises women journalists for their work in issue-led reportage or commentary - a field in which Nicola excelled. 

All the entrants were praised by judges for writing about important human issues and on dark challenging topics which many people sometimes prefer not to face.

But it was Laura’s “exceptional” work on youngsters’ mental health, birth companions and caring for vulnerable children which stood out. 

She said: “I am delighted and pleasantly surprised, as the calibre of the other women that were nominated was so high.

“I am very honoured it was the Nicola Barry award as she was obviously a trailblazing journalist and really focused on humanitarian and social justice issues. That is what I have always been keen to do.”

One of the main pieces Laura was nominated for was a special report into children and young people’s mental health - and the failures in care services.

“That was written during the pandemic, but it was on issues that had been prevalent for a long time and I think the pandemic really really shone a light on it - like a lot of areas,” she said. 

The other articles she submitted covered support for pregnant asylum seekers and refugees and an interview with the woman who led of a review of Scotland’s care system.

Laura added: “The last 18 months has been tough, and it was great to see at the Press Awards people are really committed and managed to produce really important and high quality work, even though they were working in bedrooms and with toddlers and kids running about.

“You’re still making a bit of impact even if it is from your living room- even if you might not feel like that when you are bashing out a story on the keyboard with no-one to talk to.”

The runner-up in the Nicola Barry Award was Catriona Stewart of The Herald, who was praised by the judges for writing about migrants and the pandemic with “warmth and colour”.

She said: “I was really taken aback to be shortlisted for the Nicola Barry Award this year, never mind win an award. I was up against three colleagues whose work I greatly admire, Shona Craven, Kirsteen Paterson and Helen McArdle, as well as the impressive Laura Smith, so I'm pleased with the recognition but also take my hat off to the others on the shortlist.”

Catriona submitted three columns on immigration for the awards - tackling issues including online racism, offshore detention of asylum seekers and migrant labour. 

She said she chose to focus on immigration as it has been such a vital topic in the middle of the pandemic and the “grinding muddle of Brexit”.

“Despite the work of Women In Journalism Scotland, and despite the issue long being a hot topic, the balance of the sexes at the Scottish Press Awards is skewed heavily every year towards male reporters, particularly in certain categories such as politics and sport,” she added.

“The Nicola Barry Award is an important step in addressing this balance and I would really encourage women journalists to enter the category next year. It's vital that women's work is visible at high profile industry events. 

“We know that women can feel reluctant to enter, for a variety of reasons, but just take the plunge - there's nothing to lose and every possibility of a win.”

Our congratulations also go to all those shortlisted for the Nicola Barry Award - Shona Craven of The National, Helen McArdle of The Herald and Kirsteen Paterson of The National/Sunday National.

WIJ Scotland would also like to say a huge thank you to all the judges of the award - Nicola’s husband Alastair Murray, who was the chair, Jean Rafferty, Sandra Ratcliffe and Jan Patience.

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.

While sports journalism is all too often still male-dominated, former BBC Scotland presenter Rhona McLeod is one of the reporters who is in Tokyo for the Olympic Games.

Here, in what was originally sent as a Facebook post for family and friends, she gives an insider’s guide into what life is like covering the major sporting event - from endless temperature checks to interviews in nine languages and ensuring supplies of gin and oatcakes.

Some of the kit needed to cover the Olympics

When I go to these big sporting events there are always lovely offers from friends to carry my bags or do my make-up, so I decided to show the story of what it’s like with a little bit of Olympic reporter lifestyle info.

I am not here with the BBC, I am with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). We provide all the TV pictures you see and send these pictures out to the world - over 200 countries and an audience of kazillions.

Rights holders like the BBC receive our sport action pictures but may send their own reporters to do interviews and features. There are many countries who do not have this luxury and so we do unbiased reports for all countries and report all the medallists and featured athlete stories for all nations. In my first night doing interviews at taekwondo I conducted nine interviews in nine languages. 

A great deal of time in my day is spent making friends from foreign places to help me ask questions and translate answers. We also have cards provided with sports questions in loads of languages - these are our last resort.

My home at the hotel when I am away from all the excitement of the sport is a very small bedroom with a super comfortable bed for me and another for all my technical stuff - phones (UK and Japan), laptop, iPad, archiving tablet for interviews, cables, converters, the foreign language cards, my mask supply and some clothes. OBS provide us with uniforms ( trousers, shorts, t shirts, rain jacket, hat) so there is very little clothes packing required which I love.

My bag was packed with mainly food, and a few home comforts like gin and chocolate. Oatcakes and peanut butter are my energy snacks for long days at work with lots of walking.

There is no wardrobe, so the room is a mess with only four hooks for hanging space. At the door is my most important stuff - I cannot leave the room without my accreditation and a mask. We also have our temperature taken at the venue to gain entry. If it’s 37.5C you are turned away. My scariest moment was 37.2C, but it was an incredibly hot day.

My bathroom is tiny but quite cute. The bath is a wee egg shaped thing which looks terrible but actually is very comfortable and ecologically sound. The toilets everywhere have a number of suggestions for spraying water into every orifice! Too scared to try anything so far.

Having been here for a while now, we are tested for Covid every four days - it was daily in the beginning. I am very fortunate to have a great pal and cameraman in Grega Kos from Slovenia. He is learning lots of Scottish words and has a fantastic accent especially when he says words like bahoochie. Last night he learned ‘ma heid‘s nippin’ after a particularly challenging day.

There will be more from the sport another time, or possibly on my return. Everyone is very sensitive to the Games and their presence in Japan, so social media content featuring athletes and venues is strictly controlled.

Sayonara!

It’s been a year like no other and while we’ve not been able to meet in person, WIJ Scotland has offered support, advice, training and much needed social gatherings online.

None of this would be possible without the help of our volunteer committee members and with several standing down from their positions, there are some great opportunities for others to become involved.

Come along to the AGM on Wednesday 28 July from 7-8:00pm or email wijscotland@gmail.com to find out more.

Here’s a look back in numbers at just some of our achievements from 2020-2021:

• 14 mentees paired with inspiring industry leaders

• 170 expert women given online media training to redress gender imbalance

• 30 journalists media trained in broadcast studios for contributor opportunities

• 100 women in media surveyed for a Covid impact industry snapshot

• 4 hilarious/enlightening/eye-opening/heartening book salons

• 1 crisis grant, in solidarity, to a member in need - agreed by committee at emergency meeting

• 1 badly needed January social

• 4 leading political journalists in a panel discussion

• 5 organisations we've collaborated with to improve gender equality in the media

• 1 WiJ Scotland Hall of Fame launched

• 20 entry fees offered for female entrants to the Scottish Press Awards

• Countless jobs and opportunities offered to members

• All Zoom experts, panellists and web writers paid for their time

I joined Women in Journalism Scotland when I was still studying for my Masters, back in 2016. I was newly arrived in Glasgow and attending the first training and networking events felt like unlocking a secret world. I got to learn from Scotland's best women journalists, and then got the inside story about life in Scotland's newsrooms by having one too many glasses of wine with them after.

I previously worked as a freelancer, which can sometimes be a lonely gig. Becoming a member connected to me so many brilliant women journalists. Not only have I built my professional connections, but I've made some good friends, who I know have my back when needed.

I started attending committee meetings a few years back and put myself forward to be Secretary two years ago – sharing the role with the brilliant Eve Livingston. Along the way, I redesigned and relaunched our website, automated our membership administration and created a members directory. It’s been a privilege to be part of the Women in Journalism Scotland journey, watching the organisation grow and provide support to new members.

It's well known that our media has a serious diversity issue. We need to address this in order to have a media that better reflects and serves our communities. We need more women and more people from under-represented backgrounds to join our industry and to work in senior roles. And we need the industry to adapt; women should never have to choose between their family and their career.

If you're passionate about these subjects, want to connect to other women working in the media, and help to lift each other up, get involved with Women in Journalism Scotland. You won’t regret it.

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Our AGM is on Wednesday 28 July from 7-8pm on Zoom. To put yourself forward for any of the following roles, email wijscotland@gmail.com by midday on the 28th.

Co-Chair

Since WIJ Scotland was set up, two Co-Chairs have worked together overseeing and steering the activity of the organisation. The responsibilities are varied but in essence, the co-chairs strive to keep the organisation relevant to the concerns of women journalists in Scotland. It also involves chairing committee meetings and helping to coordinate committee activities as well as having a more public-facing role now and again, giving quotes to media and speaking at events.

Secretary

The role of Secretary involves monitoring the WIJ Scotland email address, dealing with all incoming enquiries and membership issues. It also includes managing the website updates, sending out newsletters and sharing minutes and action points from committee meetings.

Treasurer

The WIJ Scotland Treasurer oversees the group's finances, authorising and making payments as required (via online banking) and providing updates on our bank balance to the committee. It's a really important role, crucial to the whole organisation.

Event Organiser

The Event Organisers pull together workshops, talks, socials and any other event that the committee feels members would benefit from. There is budget available to help with booking venues and all contributors will be paid the going rate. It also involves managing ticket sales. Event Organisers are encouraged to propose their own ideas for events to the committee as well as responding to invites from outside organisations.

Our 2021 AGM will be held on Wednesday 28 July. Jan Patience is standing down from her role as co-chair. Here she reflects on the work carried out by Women in Journalism Scotland, and the work left to do.

Interested in joining the committee? Email wijscotland@gmail.com by 28 July.

Jan Patience | Photo by James Williamson

It might surprise some Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJS) members but there was a pre-digital version of this organisation in the 1990s, run with élan by the marvellous Jean Rafferty.

I was a member then and I remember enjoying the social gatherings run by Jean and the committee before I headed off to London to jump on the weekly consumer magazine bandwagon for a few years.

These get-togethers were both raucous and reassuring. It was good to meet other women in the industry and discover they were not as scary as their bylines – or as terrifying as male colleagues made them out to be.

If you think journalism is male-dominated in the 2020s, you ain’t seen nothing. I started out in journalism in the late 1980s and even although I have good memories of supportive male colleagues, women journalists were expected to be either ball-breakers or simpering yes-gals while being constantly played off against one another; probably because we were the minority and it suited the power dynamic in work hard/play hard newsrooms.

When BBC Scotland’s Investigations Editor Shelley Jofre and Guardian Scotland Correspondent, Libby Brooks, fired up Women in Journalism Scotland again in 2016, encouraged by colleagues from WiJ UK, there was a can-do feeling in the air at its first ‘sell-out’ event, attended by First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.

As a freelance, who had embraced the digital age, but was feeling a wee bit out-of-the-loop at my 'kitchen sync', it felt like a breath of fresh air.

I met old work friends outside of social media and was introduced to new colleagues I knew only by their byline. We drank wine, laughed, reminisced, gossiped… three of us even went to Rogano afterwards for an old-school session complete with killer hangover.

I decided to attend committee meetings and ended up offering my services on the social media side. Along the way, I attended the first WiJS Branch into Broadcasting event, held between BBC Scotland and STV and vowed never to say no again to requests by television or radio producers for interview (because I thought I wasn’t ‘expert’ enough).

Attending the Scottish Press Awards with WIJS

I also helped set up the Nicola Barry Award for women journalists in an attempt to help redress the balance of award-winning journalists. All this while getting to know a bunch of great women. In an industry which is based on relationships, this is what I’d been missing.

I quickly realised there was still a lot of work to be done in the media to make it a level and diverse playing field. I often joke that now that women have been discovered, WiJS has been in demand. Then #MeToo, having not previously had a name, reared its head. The work goes on.

Two years ago, when Shelley stepped down as co-chair, I stepped up and joined Libby Brooks until she decided to take a break too. For the last year, Catriona MacPhee and I have worked together remotely as co-chairs, taking the organisation of WiJS entirely online as the pandemic played out in the background.

I can’t tell you how good it was to meet up with Cat – and her new baby – in an actual room, as opposed to a Zoom room but operating remotely has worked well for us as in organisation, making us more geographically inclusive and nimble.

In the last 18 months, we held committee meetings which saw members joining in from Shetland to Stranraer and even launched our inaugural WiJS mentoring scheme, overseen by the mighty Gabriella Bennett.

Gabriella also organised a Think Like a Boss online event featuring broadcaster Kirsty Wark, journalist Anna Burnside and the BBC's Head of Output Operations, Suzanne Lord. We all emerged from that Zoom room two feet taller. And with a smile on our faces.

Our WiJS Book Salon, with Anna Burnside in the chair, has also seen lively online events featuring the likes of journalists-turned-authors Ajay Close and Kirsten Innes

Now, two years on, the time has come to hand over the baton to a new co-chair to work alongside Cat. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure. Occasionally it’s been an emotional and logistical rollercoaster. When women get together though, there is no stopping them.

By Anna Burnside

What do Kirstin Innes’s acclaimed novel Scabby Queen and Sam Baker’s menopause memoir/manifesto The Shift have in common? They are the next two books up for discussion at WIJ Scotland’s Book Salon.

I interviewed Sam in the summer and persuaded her to climb Calton Hill and be photographed beside a giant gun. She has had an extraordinary career, editing More and Just 17 then Cosmopolitan and Red. In her 40s, in the middle of an early perimenopausal meltdown, she applied for another prestigious editor’s job. 

After an extensive interview process, her male boss told her that it was not a suitable position for a girl who went to a comprehensive school and whose father was a bricklayer.

When Sam told me this, in Edinburgh’s Valvona & Crolla, I just about choked on my coffee.

The Shift unpicks what she did next: starting the online platform The Pool with Lauren Laverne, going to meetings with venture capitalists in the throes of menopausal sweats and brain fog. Then, when it had to close, she explains how she picked herself up, moved to Edinburgh and started again.

Acknowledging that the menopause affects everyone differently, she brings in the different experiences of a range of women who talk about their menopause and its effect on careers and relationships.

The Shift is now out in paperback and has spawned a successful podcast.

So plenty to talk about there. And that’s without touching on Sam’s five novels. 

Kirstin Innes’s second novel, Scabby Queen, is also just out in paperback. It was one of the hits of 2020, helping people escape lockdown by living vicariously through heroine Clio Campbell. 

We first meet her as a corpse - the book opens with her suicide. Through the eyes of others in her life we piece together the events that brought her there: an anti-poll tax hit single, an experimental Burns album, relationships with an important music promoter and a young grime artist plus a brush with an undercover police officer in a squat in Brixton. 

Kirstin had the idea for Scabby Queen when she was pregnant with her first baby. She wrote it in between naps and feeds, found herself unexpectedly pregnant again and finally pressed send a week before her due date.

It was, she told me, “a 10lb baby of a book”.

There’s so much to talk about: where the idea came from, why she decided to tell the story without including Clio’s point of view, the way she wove so many of her own experiences into the book without making it autobiographical.

Then there are the practicalities: the tag team childcare with her partner, the fingerless gloves for writing in the freezing cold, the barricade against the door to give her peace to write.

And, once it was published, how it feels to be on the First Minister’s TBR pile.

WIJ Scotland’s Book Salon is a great way to hear authors like Sam and Kirstin talking about their work. The first half of the session is a Q&A with me, with the chat box open for questions from the audience. Then it’s over to you to quiz the writer about their process, their agent, their next project …

I can’t promise any more coffee-spluttering revelations but it would be lovely to see lots of you there. These will be two great nights. 

To book tickets for WIJ Scotland’s Book Salon with Sam Baker on Tues 25th May click here and for Kirstin Innes on Tues 6th July click here.

Anna Burnside is a feature writer at the Daily Record. She has worked at Scotland on Sunday, the Sunday Herald and the Sunday Times. She used to run a book salon with guest authors in her living room. At the moment WIJ Scotland’s Book Salon events are held on Zoom.