Gender and Freelancing in the Communication IndustriesAnca AntonLabel: Emerald Publishing LimitedDescription: Freelancing has become a dominant work mode in communication industries such as public relations marketing communications digital media and corporate communication offering flexibility autonomy and creative freedom to workers as well as dynamic access to specialized skills for businesses. However below this shiny surface lies a complex reality marked by job insecurity unequal access to job opportunities and persistent gender constraints. Studies that looked at this profession in the communication industries through the lens of gender have been few and far between.Gender and Freelancing in the Communication Industries: Experiences Practices Discourses is the first edited volume to focus specifically and exclusively on the intersection of gender and freelancing within the communication industries challenging the assumption that freelancing is inherently liberating. The book investigates how gendered narratives structural inequalities and national labour policies influence freelancers’ identities career dynamics and everyday practices offering a comprehensive perspective of national and international viewpoints and inviting critical reflection on equity identity and sustainability in the gig economy.Divided into three thematic sections the chapters examine discourses surrounding resilience and empowerment in online communities explore exclusionary networking practices and uncover how women navigate precarity work-life balance and professional isolation. Contributors draw from diverse methods including autoethnography qualitative interviews and generational analysis to capture the lived realities of freelance communication professionals.This collected volume benefits professionals from various fields including communication specialists researchers business leaders and policymakers. Freelancers seeking to understand their role in the economy communication experts exploring gender dynamics in their industry and researchers interested in the intersection of gender work and freelancing will find valuable insights.
