Articles

Is gender bias een mythe ? : Op zoek naar verklaringen voor de beperkte aanwezigheid van vrouwelijke politici in het Vlaamse televisienieuws

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Abstract

This study analyses the news coverage of female politicians in Flanders (Belgium). We investigate whether the deficiency of media attention for female politicians is due to structural factors or whether the news media themselves create a gender bias. For this purpose, we examine eleven possible explanations for the gender bias. On one hand the characteristics of the politicians, such as their function, can influence their news exposure and on the other hand the features of the news media, such as the broadcasting station, can be of importance. Overall, our evidence suggests that mainly the function determines the news exposure of female politicians and not their gender.  Nevertheless, female politicians still get less speaking time, even when controlling for all other variables. We can conclude that a real gender bias exists in the Flemish television news: journalists and editors give significantly less attention to female politicians compared to their male colleagues.

How to Cite:

Vos, D., (2012) “Is gender bias een mythe ? : Op zoek naar verklaringen voor de beperkte aanwezigheid van vrouwelijke politici in het Vlaamse televisienieuws”, Res Publica 54(2), 193-217.