**This page is for prospective JAWS members. If you are RENEWING A MEMBERSHIP, including those that have lapsed, please visit our MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL PAGE.**

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Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) brings together working journalists and 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 allow each other a chance to exercise the tongue instead of biting it.

We characterize our mission this way: “JAWS supports the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism and works toward a more accurate portrayal of the whole society.” 

Apply now!

Add your name to the roster of incredible women in the JAWS directory by becoming a member of the Journalism and Women Symposium, one of the few national organizations that devotes itself to women in journalism. To join online, select the appropriate membership level from the buttons on the top right-hand side of this page (or at the bottom of this page on your mobile device).

You have several options for a JAWS membership. 

• NEW Voting Member: $50 for first year, ($75 per year to renew)
  • Emerging Professional: $100 ($50 for each of first two years after leaving school)
    • Recent graduates (within the last 12 months) who are working in journalism are eligible for a reduced membership rate of $50 a year for the first two years after they leave school. Emerging professionals have voting privileges.
  • Lifetime Member: $1,200

• NEW Associate Member: $75 for 1 year, $140 for 2 years
  • Associate members have access to resources on the website and can participate in regional and national gatherings and online activities such as listservs, webinars and tweet chats. Associate members are NOT eligible to vote and cannot hold office.
  • Students*: $35
    • Those currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program for journalism may join at a discounted rate, as non-voting members.

*For purposes of this membership category, a student is defined as someone enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program for journalism.

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Five reasons to join! You get:

1. A growing network of JAWS women who can offer motivation, support and ideas, not to mention the all-important comic relief and camaraderie; we have regional groups and captains hosting events in different hubs across the country.
2. The JAWS directory with your name and contact information as well as those of hundreds of other JAWS members.
3. Access to the JAWS private Facebook group, allowing you to communicate with JAWS members around the country and share ideas, experiences, and news affecting women that you may not see reported elsewhere.
4. Free members-only webinars and discount registration to our annual Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP).
5. Other valuable member-only benefits and discounts offered by strategic partners. 

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Who Can Join JAWS

All memberships are subject to board approval. There are two categories of membership: voting and associate. The membership criteria are as follows:

Voting membership is open to:

• Journalists who are employed in digital news; broadcast, cable or online TV; radio or podcasts; newspapers; news services or syndicates; magazines; and social platforms that disseminate news and information.
• Journalists whose primary occupation is freelancing in the fields listed above.
• Journalism educators and administrators.
• People whose primary occupation is research or publishing in the field of journalism.
• People employed by organizations dedicated to serving journalists.

Associate members are entitled to all the privileges of membership except voting and pay the same dues and fees. The following people may join:

• Students* of journalism and those active in campus media at the college level or above
• Former journalists with at least three years of experience and who embrace or further the mission of Journalism and Women Symposium
• Freelance journalists who meet all of the following criteria:
  • Currently spend less than 50 percent of their time working for independent news organizations 
  • Who do not pitch stories on behalf of clients to other journalists
  • Have no media relations role
  • Who embrace or further the mission of Journalism and Women Symposium.

*For purposes of this membership category, a student is defined as someone currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program.

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How to Join or Renew:

To join online, select the appropriate membership level from the buttons on the top right-hand side of this page (or at the bottom of this page on your mobile device).

To join or give a gift by check, please make your check payable to Journalism & Women Symposium and mail to:

Journalism and Women Symposium
2885 Sanford Ave. SW, #29226,
Grandville, MI 49418-1342