Does sexist media coverage contribute to the low participation of women in politics?

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Panel explores gender bias in political coverage
By Tatiana Pina, March 5, 2014

Female candidates pay a price for sexist news coverage, according to research presented at a panel on Tuesday.

Presenter Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm, said her company’s research shows sexist media coverage decreases voter confidence in female candidates.

Voters exposed to gender bias are less likely to vote for the female candidate who is the target of sexist treatment, Lake said, but they also have a lower opinion of the opposing male candidate, even if he has nothing to do with the sexist portrayal. The finding was based on a survey of 800 likely voters nationwide in 2010.

Her research formed the basis for a lively discussion among journalists on the panel, titled “She Said He Said,” which explored the interaction among the media, politics and gender bias.

Held at The Providence Journal’s John C.A. Watkins Auditorium, the discussion was sponsored by the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and RI NOW, which aim to eliminate gender inequality.

Panelists were Katherine Gregg, State House bureau chief, The Providence Journal; Kate Nagle, news editor, GoLocalProv; Ted Nesi, political and economic reporter, WPRI-TV, and Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, founder, Latino Public Radio, WRNI-AM. The moderator was Cynthia Needham, political editor, The Boston Globe.

Appearance coverage, Lake said, is the “most dangerous.” Both male and female reporters are guilty of it.

When the media focuses on the appearance of a female candidate by writing about her hair, shoes or clothing, it has a deleterious effect on her candidacy, Lake said. It did not matter if the woman’s appearance was framed in a neutral, positive or negative way.

“Appearance, ironically, is the most sinister of the sexist coverage because it diminishes the favorability of the candidate and takes away the sense of whether she is qualified and caring,” Lake said.

But how are you going to cover gubernatorial candidate and state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo when she is talking about meatloaf, asked Gregg, referring to a recent tweet by Raimondo that said, “Just had a big family debate on whether there is such a thing as Italian meatloaf. Anyone have any thoughts?”

Jeff Britt, gubernatorial candidate Ken Block’s campaign manager, responded to Raimondo’s tweet with one of his own: “… Ur killing me with the pot roast meatloaf conversation. Come on tell the consultants that it’s ok to be a smart person.”

Gregg said that when Raimondo was complimented on her daughter, Raimondo replied that her daughter is a clotheshorse, just like her mom.

Raimondo is trying to connect with people, Gregg said.

Talk of a woman’s domestic side, the very topic the media might shy away from when covering a female candidate, can be the very thing being pushed by a campaign.

Such was the case of Elizabeth Warren when she was seeking the office of U.S. senator for Massachusetts, said Needham. Warren’s campaign was trying to soften her by showing her with her grandchildren in the kitchen.

What do you do when the campaign is trying to show a softer side? You have to write about it, said Gregg.

Nesi said that sometimes it’s easier to write about shoes than a tough topic like pension reform. Sometimes that’s what the media wants, he said, and sometimes that’s what the audience wants.

Nagle said that one has to consider whether sexist media coverage contributes to the low participation of women in Rhode Island politics.
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