ATTITUDE OF FEMALE

This study explored the attitudes of female mass communication students toward journalism as a profession using the foundations of Social Categories Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior. The study was prompted by the fact that, despite the large number of female Mass Communication graduates produced each year, there is still a drop in the number of women in journalism practice today. As a result, it became critical to experimentally identify the attitude of female Mass Communication students in Nigeria toward journalistic practice as a job, as this impact could influence their career decision. An eight-item questionnaire was used in the survey design to collect data from 312 female students of mass communication who were chosen through purposive sample procedures to represent and reflect the perspectives of female mass communication students at the University of Benin. The data collected was presented and analyzed using frequency analysis and simple statistics. Female Mass Communication students were discovered to have a negative attitude about journalism as a job, which has impacted the amount of female journalists we have now. The study also found that they have a positive opinion of the career, but this does not reflect into their consideration of the career. Meanwhile, the declining proportion of women in journalism poses a challenge to the industry. As a result, it was established that journalism is critical to the survival and development of any society. As a result, it was suggested that employers make journalism more appealing and rewarding to women, as their position in the profession of journalism remains vital.