Career aspirations of emerging young female journalists in Uzbekistan in light of the sociocultural shift

Abstract

In the context of global efforts to achieve gender equality,
enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the activities
of the government of Uzbekistan aimed at legal consolidation and practical
provision of gender equality, the issue of professional education and career
development of women is of particular importance. The authors of the article
analyze how future journalists (both women and men) perceive the problems
and prospects of professional development of women in the media industry. The
researchers of this article also focus on the career expectations of bachelors of
the "Journalism" program at universities in Uzbekistan in the context of sociocultural
transition. The main research methods used are "snowball" to form a
sample of respondents, as well as semi-structured interviews. The findings of
the study demonstrate that values inherent to the traditional way of life and
gender stereotypes continue to exert an influence on the career expectations
of young women who have chosen journalism as their profession, as well as
on men's assessments of their professional prospects. At the same time, the
study notes a weakening of this influence within the context of ongoing sociocultural
transformation. The study was conducted within the framework of the
"Collaborative Research Projects" initiative of the ORBICOM-UNESCO.