Media Bias Against Female Politicians Has to Stop

New research published in Political Research Quarterly shows that American media remains biased against female politicians; specifically three papers of record with different political leanings — The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal — all reinforce the gender stereotype that women are not as qualified as men for office. The study looked at 9,000 articles from 2018 to 2020 and examined how implicit gender frames are prevalent in these papers' news coverage. For example, journalists referred to female candidates as “emotional” or “compassionate" more often than they did male candidates, who they more often recognized as “strong” and “confident.”

While these findings are disappointing, they don’t surprise me. As a young woman in politics, I see bias everywhere. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson overcame bias during questioning for her appointment to the Supreme Court. Congresswomen continue to experience sexual harassment on the steps of the Capitol. A new United Nations report also found there has been no improvement in gender biases in the past decade, that nine out of 10 people still hold biases against women, and half of respondents believe men make better political leaders than women.

Bias is the gatekeeper at the door of political representation, blocking many qualified and passionate women from getting involved and running for office. And ultimately, the lack of women running for office does a disservice to our country. Think about the biggest debates unfolding across the country and the biggest challenges we face — from mass shootings to mental health, from climate change to access to reproductive health care. Millions of Americans are demanding action and change, yet our male-dominated legislatures are doing nothing, if not causing us to regress on these issues.

So how do we change this? It is partially up to media consumers, like you and me, to recognize and call out bias and put the onus on those who perpetuate it to solve it. It shouldn't only be on us to fix the problem, but, as readers, we do have power: We can write letters to the editor or even reach out to journalists and writers on social media and voice our concerns. Even bringing up these issues of bias when our friends and family are discussing female politicians could potentially inspire someone to think more critically when they are reading future articles and columns.

We can also challenge media bias by defying it — by organizing, running for office, and winning. There seems to be a myth that women in the U.S. have "come a long way," and that we no longer have to push so hard for women to run for office, but in reality, we won't have gender parity in Congress until 2108.

Of course, we should also recognize progress where and when it’s happening. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have some great podcasts hosted by women, like The Journal hosted by Kate Linebaugh and The Daily co-hosted by Sabrina Tavernise. Podcasts like these made me even more excited to host a podcast of my own.

Ultimately women want and need a place at decision-making tables across the country, and as a country, we limit ourselves by drawing 75% of our leaders from only half the population. The stakes and the risks are too high for us all to continue like this.