Our Story
JAWS brings together working journalists, journalism educators and researchers from across the country to share resources, support, training and information about issues that affect women* in our field. We meet in person and online in an atmosphere of mutual support and enthusiastic interest in one another’s differing experiences and journalistic dreams.
We are Pulitzer Prize winners and toilers in the most obscure outposts of American journalism. We are just out of college and we are in our seventh decade and still working for truth and justice. We have been celebrated and dismissed, patronized and powerful, out of work and in the most wonderful jobs in the world.
Many of us have created our own jobs, whether by working for ourselves or for some of the biggest media corporations in the U.S. JAWS has helped many of us shape our own future by providing a testing ground, a sounding board and a launch pad for ideas we just couldn’t resist trying out.
* “Women” at JAWS includes anyone who self-identifies as a woman, or as a non-binary, gender-nonconforming or agender person.
Our Values
Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS) is committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for everyone who participates in our gatherings and interactions.
We value truth, respect, openness, acceptance and generosity of spirit in our discussions, and a commitment to supporting one another’s journalistic ambition and pursuit of excellence.
We honor our past and embrace our future.
These values guide our conduct as an organization and as individuals. We commit to ensuring these values are upheld as provided in our organizational policies.