WPMF · Women, Politics and Media Framing (WPMF) in the UK and in Israel – Tackling Western Democracies' Gender Inequality in Politics

Women, Politics and Media Framing (WPMF) in the UK and in Israel – Tackling Western Democracies' Gender Inequality in Politics

The goal of this project was to systematically analyse gender inequality in political discourse in comparative perspective, both across countries (UK and Israel) and across time periods as portrayed in the mainstream press, and develop guidance to reduce such inequality. This corresponds to H2020 Work Programme for 2016-2017 of reversing inequalities in Europe, and more specifically to the EU Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019. Applying the theoretical framework of developmental theory, this study examined whether changes occurring in the status of women in the UK and in Israel, as part of the structural and cultural transformations that this theory points to, seep into the political discourse surrounding women and politics over time. Relevant media frames on women and politics were analysed between 1969-2019 using the print media in the UK and in Israel (where women were realistic candidates/elected for premiership). In addition, a quantitative content analysis of news and commentary was performed to locate interpretive references to women and politics. A sub-set of articles was used for an in-depth qualitative analysis, in order to draw out the key themes surround the framing of women and politics. The results of the quantitative analysis regarding the extent of permeation of feminist ideas into mainstream discourse suggested that the trends and patterns of visibility for different newspapers were broadly similar. It appeared that they followed the same type of stories whether they were left or right-leaning newspapers, tabloids or broadsheets, British or Israeli national dailies. Moreover, in both countries, whilst the keyword “feminism” was very prominent throughout most of the research period covered, other keywords (“gender” and “violence against women”) became more popular in the discourse in recent years. The preliminary results for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of news stories about women Prime Ministerial candidates indicate that traditional, gender-normative frames are still prominent in the discourse compared to progressive ones. This suggests that there is still a long way to go until women will be perceived as equally competent candidates to their male counterparts and even be viewed as possessing added value for political leadership. Thus, by offering pathways to substantive change in media coverage of women politicians (such as the use of gender-neutral language in reporting and avoidance of mentioning irrelevant personal characteristics), this study’s conclusions and recommendations could encourage more women to enter the political arena and make a significant change in the status of women in Europe and worldwide and related long-term policies.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union