What does newswomen mean?
Newswomen is the plural of newswoman and refers to women who work as journalists, especially reporters, correspondents, or broadcast presenters. The word is used in British and American English and may carry a slightly formal or traditional tone, particularly in discussions contrasting female practitioners with male journalists. In contemporary use, journalists is often preferred when a speaker does not wish to mark gender, while newswomen remains useful when the female identity of its referents is relevant. The plural is standard and is not normally used for one woman; that person is a newswoman. The compound reflects two long-established components, news and woman, and illustrates how gendered titles in journalism have traditionally distinguished female practitioners from their male counterparts. Although increasingly replaced in some contexts by gender-neutral language, newswomen remains a clear, established word for female journalists and is especially natural in reporting about the profession.
nounNewswomen are women who work as journalists, including reporters, correspondents, and broadcast presenters.
- Women who work as journalists, especially reporters, correspondents, or broadcast presenters.
"The awards ceremony honoured several prominent newswomen for their fearless reporting."
"Two newswomen were dispatched to cover the negotiations."
"The exhibition profiles women from many fields, including pioneering newswomen who challenged conventional reporting."
Newswomen is the standard plural of newswoman and is normally used for more than one female journalist.
"The newspaper employs newswomen from bureaus around the world."
The headline does not need another “s”: “newswomen” is already the standard plural.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of newswomen
Newswomen is an English compound formed from news and the plural of woman. News derives from Middle English newes, which came through Anglo-Norman noveles from the Latin novellus, meaning “new,” while woman descends from Old English wifman, originally a compound of wif (“wife”) and man (“human being”). The modern meanings of news and woman became established over time, and newswomen follows the regular English formation of a compound with a plural second element.
Related word forms
How newswomen is actually used
Newswomen is a plural-only form; the singular is newswoman. In contemporary usage, journalists may be preferred when the gender of the people concerned is irrelevant, while newswomen is natural when identifying them as women is meaningful.
Easily confused with newswomen
Newswomen denotes female journalists, whereas newsmen traditionally denotes male journalists.