How the news media cover women in politics: 5 recent studies to know
Source: The Journalist Resource
In the mid-1990s, Arizona State University political scientist Kim Fridkin dubbed U.S. press coverage of male and female candidates vying for state office a “distorted mirror” marked by gender bias that failed to accurately reflect the political landscape.
“In senatorial races, women receive less campaign coverage than their male counterparts and the coverage they receive is more negative — emphasizing their unlikely chances of victory,” Fridkin wrote in 1994 in The Journal of Politics, based on her analysis of news stories about 47 statewide campaigns from 1982 to 1988. “In both senatorial and gubernatorial races, women receive consistently less issue attention than their male counterparts.”
When the paper was published, 6% of U.S. senators were women, while women made up about 11% of members of Congress, according to a 2023 report on women leaders in U.S. politics by the Pew Research Center. About 21% of state legislators were women in the mid-1990s, as were 6% of governors, according to the Pew report.
By 2023, 25% of U.S. senators, 29% of Congress, 33% of state legislators and 24% of governors were women.
As women have occupied more positions of political power, so has news framing and language used in media coverage become more scrutinized.
Read here the full article published by The Journalist Resource on 11 September 2024.
Image by The Journalist Resource
In the mid-1990s, Arizona State University political scientist Kim Fridkin dubbed U.S. press coverage of male and female candidates vying for state office a “distorted mirror” marked by gender bias that failed to accurately reflect the political landscape.
“In senatorial races, women receive less campaign coverage than their male counterparts and the coverage they receive is more negative — emphasizing their unlikely chances of victory,” Fridkin wrote in 1994 in The Journal of Politics, based on her analysis of news stories about 47 statewide campaigns from 1982 to 1988. “In both senatorial and gubernatorial races, women receive consistently less issue attention than their male counterparts.”
When the paper was published, 6% of U.S. senators were women, while women made up about 11% of members of Congress, according to a 2023 report on women leaders in U.S. politics by the Pew Research Center. About 21% of state legislators were women in the mid-1990s, as were 6% of governors, according to the Pew report.
By 2023, 25% of U.S. senators, 29% of Congress, 33% of state legislators and 24% of governors were women.
As women have occupied more positions of political power, so has news framing and language used in media coverage become more scrutinized.
Read here the full article published by The Journalist Resource on 11 September 2024.
Image by The Journalist Resource
