Pitch Like a Lady Journo

Her Girl Friday, a Brooklyn based group dedicated to empowering and fostering community among women in journalism and nonfiction storytelling, is hosting a free event next Tuesday. 

“Throw Like a Girl: Pitching the Hell Out of Your Stories”

A free panel with the best editors in the business, hosted by New York Times reporter Amy O’Leary.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 29
WHERE: Public Assembly
70 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY
TIME: 7pm-9pm, followed by a boozy mixer (DJ tbd)

A few months ago, VIDA released its 2011 count comparing female and male bylines in major publications. As usual, the results were pretty dismal. 

The Atlantic? 235 male bylines and 91 female ones.
The New Yorker? 459 dudes, 165 ladies.
Harper’s? 141 men, 42 women.

When the editor of Harper’s was asked about the gender disparity, she explained, “The dearth of female bylines is an industry-wide issue. There may be some sort of a historical hangover from past years that has resulted in us getting fewer pitches from female writers, but I would like to change that equation.”

All this got us thinking: How do we change the equation? Read on.

FJP: Very cool. We even posted about the 2011 count twice: Here and here. NYC-based ladies, see you there!