Unseeing Eyes: Media Coverage and Gender in Latin American Elections

This book, published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), presents the results of a study carried out in five Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, and the Dominican Republic) to identify the differences and/or inequalities in media coverage experienced by female candidates in the 30 days prior to an election. The study sought to measure media coverage of electoral candidacies and the issues that attract most of the attention during campaigns, and to understand the qualitative and quantitative differences in the treatment of male and female candidates. "Do female candidates have the same opportunities as male candidates to become known, communicate their proposals to voters during election campaigns and be treated as legitimate political players with a voice of their own? In essence, the study concludes that this is still not the case.

The research and field work team in each country used a methodology designed by UN Women and International IDEA with the participation of Latin American civil society organisations (see Related Summary below). The methodology considers the commitments made by countries who have signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations against Women (CEDAW), the Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Political Rights to Women (1948), the American Convention on Human Rights (1969), and the Inter-American Democratic Charter (2001). In the latter instrument, countries commit to promoting "full and equal participation of women in the political structures of their countries as a fundamental element in the promotion and exercise of a democratic culture."

Results of the comparative analysis showed that:

• Programmatic issues related to gender equality were virtually absent from campaign agendas and media coverage;
• Less coverage was given to women's candidacies;
• Overall there was more coverage of men, which was also more likely to include pictures accompanying stories (so voters could identify the candidates) and interviews (which allowed male candidates ample opportunity to discuss their platforms);
• When the media wrote the story without opinions from others, they still provided more coverage of men then women;
• The tone and bias of coverage was more likely to be negative in stories about women; and
• Coverage of gender equality was absent from state-run media.

These conclusions lead the study's author to argue that “one of the pending tasks for anyone interested in promoting gender equality in political participation in Latin America is to work with the media—first, to raise their awareness about the shortcomings in their election coverage, from a gender standpoint; second, to help them appreciate the meaning of gender equality in the exercise of men' and women's political rights, as well as in other areas of life; and third, to root out biased and sometimes discriminatory attitudes toward women, in order to generate information that helps communicate more egalitarian approaches and build more democratic societies."

Recommendations based on those conclusions include several communications for development strategies:

1. Strengthen media monitoring by civil society organisations, providing them with the tools and technical assistance to mainstream gender in their activities.
2. Disseminate the findings in countries where inequalities and thematic gaps in coverage are identified, to stimulate public discussion of the media's role in building a more inclusive and egalitarian democracy, in which men and women can exercise their political rights on equal terms and have equal opportunities for access to public office in elections.
3. Encourage dialogue with the media and build partnerships with them to hold workshops for journalists in countries with upcoming elections—before the election campaign begins—to raise media awareness about gender equality issues and offer information about international best practices for ensuring more balanced coverage without gender stereotypes or biases.
4. Continue supporting training to give male and female candidates tools to help them develop gender proposals to disseminate to voters. Also, promote the strengthening of women's political communication skills, which enable them to better transmit their campaign messages and attract media attention to their candidacies and platforms.
5. Encourage the media to adopt voluntary codes of gender-sensitive coverage in their work, not only for political and electoral coverage, but in all areas of reporting.
6. In countries where elections are scheduled, carry out gender-sensitive media monitoring that includes both quantitative and qualitative variables, to gather more national and regional information.
7. Encourage and deepen research on gender stereotypes reproduced by the media in the images and rhetoric they use to refer to female politicians.

Click here to download the English version of this document in PDF format.