Join AIR and JAWS for a discussion on freelancer and independent journalists' protections Wednesday, May 5.

JAWS and the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) will present A Freelancers Guide to Protections: Personal, Professional, and Financial Considerations. A one-hour panel discussion on freelancer protections starts at 6 p.m. ET and will be followed by another hour of breakout room conversations led by our panelists.

Freelancers and independent journalists are among the most vulnerable when it comes to how we work. Freelancers aren’t often aware of employment laws that could protect us, media outlets and production companies rarely provide us with a contact in Human Resources and we definitely don’t accrue paid sick leave or have access to employee health insurance or staff retirement accounts.

Dr. Michelle Ferrier, founder of Troll Busters, will moderate a conversation with Jéneen Perkins, a financial consultant specializing in self-employment and small business finances, and AIR Managing Director Amanda Hickman, who leads AIR’s Code of Fair Practices initiatives.

The conversation will focus on the unique vulnerability that women face while navigating careers in journalism that often put us in the public eye.