Women’s empowerment is very important to members of Her Campus. We want to create opportunities for collegiettes to take advantage of once they leave college and enter the workforce. For all of our members in Mass Media, or any student interested in journalism or media of any sort, one organization that supports the strength of women is the AWSM, the Association for Women in Sports Media. According to their website, “The Association for Women in Sports Media is an international organization whose male and female membership supports the advancement and growth of women – both student and professional – in sports media.” Some members of the AWSM include women who work for ESPN, the Houston Chronicle, USA TODAY Sports, MLB Advanced media, and many others. ”. AWSM annually pays tribute to members who have paved the way for women in sports media. One of those women is Mary Garber, they even award a yearly Mary Garber Pioneer award.
The nonprofit works to be an advocate for women in sports media with networking, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities. They also watch over work environments to be sure that women have access to the same opportunities as men, and have a positive place to work. Women in traditionally male dominated fields run into a multitude of issues. What some may think is a skip through a field of daisies is actually a ride through a hurricane with sharks circling your boat, waiting for you to fall out. The respect of male counterparts has to be earned and in fields such as media, and that respect is incredibly difficult to earn. This happens to women in law, tech, business, gaming, medicine…any field if you really think about it. That’s because every field can be considered a traditionally male dominated field. But the AWSM is just one organization looking out for equality in the work force.
Since their conception in 1990 the AWSM has gifted more than 140 internships to college women interested in sports media. There are internships in writing, public relations, broadcasting and reporting. The interns from 2016 even worked at ESPN, CNN, USA Today and many more! The 2017 Application process is now open, to apply go to http://awsmonline.org/internship-scholarship/.
The AWSM has student chapters at universities to help college aged women who want to go into sports media. Being in an AWSM student chapter has benefits such as job alerts, newsletters, and networking with the professional members. It will also bring together a support group of women to help and support each other. If you think your school could use an AWSM student chapter, go to this website: http://awsmonline.org/students/awsm-student-chapter-faqs/.