Where Are the Women…In Media?
It’s not just language, but a lack of any female presence at all that may be part of the problem contributing to media sexism. A new report by 4thEstate on 2012 Election Coverage finds women are drastically underrepresented in print, radio, and TV political coverage.
Of the top 15 print media outlets, just 19% of statements come from women. The Washington Post scores the worst, with just 10% of statements in the paper’s articles being attributed to women, while the Philadelphia Inquirer scores highest, with 25% of statements attributed to women.
4thEstate also looked at the top print journalists and found a similar pattern. The top four journalists attributed only 20% of their statements to women. That number dropped to 11% when candidates were factored in, indicating statements from candidates make up a large proportion of the reporters’ female quotes.
Thank you 4thEstate for pointing this out, we all need to be more vigilant. Next time you watch the news or read a paper, ask yourself: where are the women?
Published by Kate McCarthy on 06/01/2012