Vintage Lady Journo Martha Gellhorn

Last week I was a guest on CBC Radio, as part of a panel of editors discussing the Vida stats and the lack of women writers in The New Yorker. I made my standard argument that this is an issue editors have to commit to resolving. And I was frustrated as I listened to some of the other editors on the panel repeatedly say that the dearth of female bylines is a supply-side problem, that there just aren't many women writers and freelance journalists. Fewer women, they said, are willing to adopt a lifestyle with such financial insecurity. As someone who has recently adopted said lifestyle, I found this deeply annoying.

I'm also a big fan of long-form journalism aggregating sites, several of which have sprung up in the past year or so (LongForm.org, Long Reads, Give Me Something to Read, etc). These sites, while great, tend to replicate the existing gender gap because they mostly highlight articles published in the big thought-leader magazines.

So last night I made Lady Journos! -- a one-stop shop for lazy editors who claim there aren't many women journalists. Specifically, I'll be highlighting work by women writers who are not already well-known. (Everyone loves Jane Mayer, and rightfully so! But that's the exact reason I won't be featuring her on the site.) As for criteria beyond the byline, it's totally subjective. I will link to work that I think is compelling -- long-form narrative pieces, investigative reporting, provocative essays -- by women who deserve more exposure. I worked for four years as a features editor at a national magazine. I think I have pretty good taste.

I have a ton of articles in the queue already and recommendations keep coming in. Women journalists are already out there. They are doing awesome work. This is my way of pushing the editors of major publications to pay attention -- and hire them.