{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T18:37:35Z","timestamp":1776969455100,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Emerald Publishing Limited","isbn-type":[{"value":"9781835491539","type":"print"},{"value":"9781835491522","type":"electronic"},{"value":"9781835491539","type":"print"},{"value":"9781835491553","type":"print"},{"value":"9781835491546","type":"electronic"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>This chapter aims to explore the gendered experiences and practices of Portuguese freelancers in communication industries. It derives from the project Well-being in comms industries from EUPRERA Project network Women in Public Relations (PR).<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>We refer to Acker's work on gendered organisations to comprehend how the components of the gender substructure perpetuating inequalities manifest in communication industries for freelancers. The analysis focuses on three main dimensions: job interactions and networking practices; work\u2013life balance; and job well-being and gender subtext. Portugal, as a small EU country with low salaries, provides a social and political context to be studied in this feminised industry, with deep work\u2013life gender inequalities together with a fear of precarity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>The study used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews applied to two groups of participants selected by snowball sampling. The first group had active freelancers and the second contracted workers, some former freelancers from comms industries, to contrast their perceptions and experiences on freelancing work in their field.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Results show that perceptions of freelancing in Portugal mirror a duality between opportunities and challenges, and are gendered and generationally built. While job interactions and networking practices are more valued by younger professionals, work\u2013life balance seems to benefit from perceived time flexibility. Job well-being is overall deemed positive, however, affected by the lack of stability, poor labour protection, unclear regulation and lack of state incentives, threats mostly felt by younger, and female freelancers. A gender subtext was perceived related to a glass wall that may affect women professional careers when engaging in lateral job expansion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1108\/978-1-83549-152-220251005","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T16:22:45Z","timestamp":1757953365000},"page":"77-96","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Freedom or Constraint: Gendered Experiences and Practices of\n                                Portuguese Communication Industries Freelancers"],"prefix":"10.1108","author":[{"given":"Maria Jo\u00e3o","family":"Cunha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CIEG\/ISCSP-ULisboa ,","place":["Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Carla","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CAPP\/ISCSP-ULisboa ,","place":["Portugal"]}]},{"given":"C\u00e9lia","family":"Belim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CAPP\/ISCSP-ULisboa ,","place":["Portugal"]}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref181","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"190","DOI":"10.1177\/0019793916668530","article-title":"Women at work:\n                                        Women's access to power and the gender earnings\n                                        gap","volume":"70","author":"Abendroth","year":"2017","journal-title":"ILR Review"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref182","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1177\/089124390004002002","article-title":"Hierarchies, jobs,\n                                        bodies: A theory of gendered organizations","volume":"4","author":"Acker","year":"1990","journal-title":"Gender & Society"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref183","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243206289499","article-title":"Inequality regimes:\n                                        Gender, class, and race in organizations","volume":"20","author":"Acker","year":"2006","journal-title":"Gender & Society"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref184","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1128","DOI":"10.1177\/09500170231175769","article-title":"The influence of\n                                        work\u2013family conflict and enhancement on the\n                                        wellbeing of the self-employed and their spouses: A dyadic\n                                        analysis","volume":"38","author":"Alshibani","year":"2023","journal-title":"Work, Employment and\n                                        Society"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref185","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.31178\/SC.13.1.04","article-title":"Communication\n                                        freelancers, Facebook groups and COVID-19: A Qualitative\n          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Exploring gender in project-based new media\n                                        work in Euro","volume":"5","author":"Gill","year":"2002","journal-title":"Information,\n                                        Communication & Society"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref209","first-page":"133","volume-title":"Estudos Sobre os Jornalistas Portugueses:\n                                        Metamorfoses e Encruzilhadas no Limiar do S\u00e9culo\n                                        XX","author":"Gra\u00e7a","year":"2009"},{"issue":"1\u20132","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref210","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1163\/156916307X168584","article-title":"Freelancers in\n                                        Germany's old and new media industry: Beyond\n                                        standard patterns of work and life?","volume":"33","author":"Henninger","year":"2007","journal-title":"Critical Sociology"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref211","author":"Instituto Nacional de\n                                            Estat\u00edstica (INE)","year":"2023","journal-title":"As Pessoas\n                                        [People]_2023"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref212","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2055","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2019.02055","article-title":"\u201cKnowing me,\n                                        knowing you\u201d the importance of networking for\n                                        freelancers\u2019 careers: Examining the mediating role\n                                        of need for relatedness fulfillment and\n                                        employability-enhancing competencies","volume":"10","author":"Jacobs","year":"2019","journal-title":"Frontiers in Psychology"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref213","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1177\/13675494211004593","article-title":"Mummy influencers and\n                                        professional sharenting","volume":"25","author":"Jorge","year":"2022","journal-title":"European\n                                        Journal of Cultural Studies"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref214","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1042","DOI":"10.5465\/amj.2020.1176","article-title":"The glass wall and the\n                                        gendered evaluation of role expansion in freelancing\n                                        careers","volume":"66","author":"Lee","year":"2023","journal-title":"Academy of Management\n                                        Journal"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref215","unstructured":"Lima,\n                                                M.\n                                        J.\n                                        (2009). Carga de trabalhos\n                                        rejeita an\u00fancios de est\u00e1gios n\u00e3o\n                                        remunerados. Meios &\n                                        Publicidade. http:\/\/www.meiosepublicidade.pt\/2009\/10\/carga-de-trabalhos-rejeita-anuncios-de-estagios-nao-remunerados\/"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref216","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1163\/9789004400795_014","volume-title":"Challenging future practice\n                                        possibilities","author":"Maloney","year":"2019"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref217","first-page":"672694","volume-title":"Frontiers in\n                                        Psychology","author":"May","year":"2022"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref218","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"286","DOI":"10.1177\/01634437211045525","article-title":"Time for a change:\n                                        Women, work, and gender equality in TV\n                                        production","volume":"44","author":"Milner","year":"2021","journal-title":"Media, Culture &\n                                        Society"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref219","unstructured":"MINRS. (2023).\n                                        Work-life changes: A representatividade dos\n                                        profissionais liberais.\n                                        Associa\u00e7\u00e3o Nacional de Profissionais\n                                        Liberais. https:\/\/minrs.pt\/anpl.pdf"},{"issue":"230","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref220","first-page":"154","volume":"54","author":"Miranda","year":"2019","journal-title":"Tra\u00e7os de uma\n                                        profiss\u00e3o estratificada"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref221","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.21018\/rjcpr.2022.2.342","article-title":"An exploratory study of\n                                        communication freelancers and online communities. A mixed\n                                        methods approach","volume":"24","author":"Moise","year":"2022","journal-title":"Romanian Journal\n                                        of Communication and Public Relations"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref222","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101076","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scaman.2019.101076","article-title":"Making it work in free\n                                        agent work: The coping practices of Swedish freelance\n                                        journalists","volume":"35","author":"Norb\u00e4ck","year":"2019","journal-title":"Scandinavian Journal of\n                                        Management"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref223","first-page":"21","volume-title":"As Novas Gera\u00e7\u00f5es de Jornalistas\n                                        em 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                          creative economy: Assessing freelancing on\n                                        Upwork","volume":"34","author":"Popiel","year":"2017","journal-title":"Critical Studies in Media\n                                        Communication"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref227","volume-title":"Linkedin","author":"Rampton","year":"2023"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref228","volume-title":"Qualitative research practice:\n                                        A guide for social science students and\n                                    researchers","author":"Ritchie","year":"2003"},{"issue":"9\/10","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref229","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"736","DOI":"10.1108\/IJSSP-01-2018-0006","article-title":"Work value orientations\n                                        and worker well-being in the new economy: Implications of\n                                        the job demands-resources model among internet\n                                        freelancers","volume":"38","author":"Shevchuk","year":"2018","journal-title":"International Journal\n                                        of Sociology and Social Policy"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref230","first-page":"1","article-title":"\u201cI don\u2019t\n                                        have the necessary conditions\u201d: How television and\n                                        radio journalists rate the quality of journalism in\n                                        Portugal","volume":"44","author":"Silva","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comunica\u00e7\u00e3o e Sociedade"},{"issue":"8","key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref231","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2001","DOI":"10.1177\/1464884919841759","article-title":"Work\u2013life\n                                        balance in media 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de\n                                        g\u00e9nero ao longo da vida [Gender equality throughout\n                                        life]","author":"Torres","year":"2018"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref235","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"475","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-019-00246-6","article-title":"Happy free willies?\n                                        Investigating the relationship between freelancing and\n                                        subjective well-being","volume":"55","author":"van der\n                                                Zwan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Small\n                                        Business Economics"},{"key":"2026042313410235600_book-9781835491522-ref236","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-954X.12240","article-title":"Getting in, getting on,\n                                        getting out? Women as career scramblers in the UK film and\n                                        television industries","volume":"63","author":"Wing-Fai","year":"2015","journal-title":"The\n                                        Sociological Review"}],"container-title":["Gender and Freelancing in the Communication Industries"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/books\/edited-volume\/chapter-pdf\/11273163\/978-1-83549-152-220251005en.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T17:42:12Z","timestamp":1776966132000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/books\/book\/21179\/chapter\/109232354\/Freedom-or-Constraint-Gendered-Experiences-and"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]]},"ISBN":["9781835491539","9781835491522","9781835491539","9781835491553","9781835491546"],"references-count":56,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/978-1-83549-152-220251005","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]]}}}