This election season, we’re examining the role gender plays in news coverage. Here’s why
Source: Crosscut
By Kiana Scott & Tamara Power-Drutis,
When Jenny Durkan was sworn in as Seattle’s mayor in 2017, the Seattle Weekly introduced her with the words, “Durkan, who wore a royal blue blazer and black slacks, flashed a toothy smile as she settled at the podium.” The first woman in nearly a century had just been elected to lead Seattle, and an important local outlet directed reader attention to her clothing and physical appearance.
Election coverage of candidates for public office shapes voter awareness, and informs our democratic decision-making. Media have the power to define our understanding of candidates, which in turn impacts how we vote. Numerous academic studies have examined the difference in coverage of male and female candidates, and concluded that media coverage of women disproportionately highlights physical appearance, family, sexual orientation, personality, and novelty in the race, while coverage of men overwhelmingly tends to highlight experience and policy positions, largely ignoring appearance, family and novelty. These differences have immense impact at the ballot.
More women are running for more offices than at any period in our region’s history. While fewer than 29% of state legislators in the U.S. are women, and Seattle can boast only two female mayors in our city’s 150 year history, the political landscape is changing rapidly. Six women are vying for the presidency, while across the Seattle/King County region, women are pursuing elected office up and down the ballot. Just this year, more than 180 women filed to run for office in King County alone.
Click here to read the full article published by Crosscut on 14 August 2019.
By Kiana Scott & Tamara Power-Drutis,
When Jenny Durkan was sworn in as Seattle’s mayor in 2017, the Seattle Weekly introduced her with the words, “Durkan, who wore a royal blue blazer and black slacks, flashed a toothy smile as she settled at the podium.” The first woman in nearly a century had just been elected to lead Seattle, and an important local outlet directed reader attention to her clothing and physical appearance.
Election coverage of candidates for public office shapes voter awareness, and informs our democratic decision-making. Media have the power to define our understanding of candidates, which in turn impacts how we vote. Numerous academic studies have examined the difference in coverage of male and female candidates, and concluded that media coverage of women disproportionately highlights physical appearance, family, sexual orientation, personality, and novelty in the race, while coverage of men overwhelmingly tends to highlight experience and policy positions, largely ignoring appearance, family and novelty. These differences have immense impact at the ballot.
More women are running for more offices than at any period in our region’s history. While fewer than 29% of state legislators in the U.S. are women, and Seattle can boast only two female mayors in our city’s 150 year history, the political landscape is changing rapidly. Six women are vying for the presidency, while across the Seattle/King County region, women are pursuing elected office up and down the ballot. Just this year, more than 180 women filed to run for office in King County alone.
Click here to read the full article published by Crosscut on 14 August 2019.
