Chapter 2: Balancing Precarity and Empowerment: A Discourse Analysis of Women Communication Freelancers’ Narratives in Online Media

This study explores the narratives of women communication freelancers as represented in online media, focussing on the dichotomy between the empowering discourse of freelancing and its precarious realities. With the rise of freelancing in marketing and communication (marcom) industries, driven by economic shifts and digitalisation, women professionals increasingly opt for self-employment, often motivated by perceived flexibility and control over work–life balance. Using a narrative analysis framework, the study examines how online representations highlight empowerment through autonomy, client choice, and professional identity while simultaneously revealing systemic challenges like financial instability, professional loneliness, and the normalisation of overwork. The findings also underscore the gendered dimensions of freelancing, where motherhood often intersects with career decisions, framing freelancing as a feminist solution to workplace inequities. However, this discourse obscures underlying structural inequalities, such as reliance on familial support and the exclusion of underprivileged groups. By critically analysing media portrayals, this chapter reveals how women freelancers internalise neoliberal ideals of self-investment and individual responsibility, perpetuating a rhetoric that downplays systemic issues in favour of personal resilience. The study calls for a re-evaluation of public narratives around freelancing, emphasising the need for structural reforms to create equitable and sustainable work environments for freelancers. These findings contribute to understanding the complexities of freelancing as both an opportunity and a challenge, particularly for women navigating professional and personal responsibilities in the marcom sector.