She is a woman, she is pregnant... she is the Minister of Defense. A comparative analysis of the media representation of the first female Defense minister in Spanish history.
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Abstract
Studies examining newspaper coverage of politics have found female politicians to be disadvantaged as compared with their male counterparts, as women tend to attract lower overall attention and to receive less substantive coverage than men. Yet little systematic analysis has been devoted to the coverage of ministers of the same portfolio in different government cabinets. This paper explores the media treatment of three Spanish Defense ministers: the first female Spanish Defense minister, Carme Chacón, the former minister of Defense, José Bono (also a member of the Socialist government), and her successor, Pedro Morenés (from the Conservative People’s Party). Based on a sample of news articles from the four main Spanish newspapers, I analyze the first days of the coverage of the three Defense ministers. The analysis compares the coverage appointment in quantitative and qualitative terms, focusing on 1) the visibility and prominence of their appointments; 2) number of statements by the ministers represented in the news; 3) mentions of politicians appearance and private life, as well as mentions of their professional background; 4) mentions of the gender of the ministers; 5) traits associated to the ministers (positive and negative traits); and 6) the overall slant of the coverage. The study presents new evidence on the differential treatment by the media of women politicians assigned to high-prestige and powerful positions.Keywords
gender, stereotypes, ministers, print media, Spain.Downloads
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