Media Coverage of Minority Congresswomen and Voter Evaluations

• Published date: 01 September 2013
• Author: Sarah Allen Gershon
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912912467851
• Date: 01 September 2013
• Subject Matter: Mini-Symposium

Political Research Quarterly

66(3) 702 –714

© 2012 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912912467851

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Mini-Symposium

The presence of women in elective office, particularly in

the U.S. House of Representatives, has grown signifi-

cantly in recent decades, with the number of female rep-

resentatives more than quadrupling in the past thirty years

(Center for Women and Politics, Women in Elective

Office 2010). While all women are descriptively under-

represented in Congress, minority congresswomen, who

undoubtedly face a unique set of barriers in seeking and

holding elective office, remain a fairly small proportion

of this legislative body. For example, while Anglo women

make up 12 percent of the House of Representatives and

17 percent of the Senate, African American congress-

women are less than 3 percent of the House, Latinas are

approximately 1 percent of all U.S. Representatives, and

there are no minority women serving in the U.S. Senate

(Center for Women and Politics, Women of Color in

Elective Office 2010). Women of color have made sig-

nificant strides in winning elective office in recent years

(Bedolla, Tate, and Wong 2005; Fraga et al. 2003; Mon-

toya, Hardy-Fanta, and Garcia 2000); however, their rela-

tively small numbers at the national level limit their

representation in the policy-making process.1 In moving

toward a greater explanation for the limited numbers of

minority women serving in Congress, the factors shaping

voter support for these women must be examined. To that

end, this paper considers the role of the mass media in

shaping voter support for minority congresswomen.

The manner in which the news media covers congress-

women (particularly women of color) may impact their

ability to build support among voters and win reelection.

Generally, American voters rely heavily on the news media

for information about their elected officials (Graber 2010).

In a nation of more than 300 million, elected officials and

candidates are often not able to directly communicate with

voters, relying instead on the news media to inform voters

of their issue positions and build public support. Scholars

of gender and race politics have long drawn links between

the media’s treatment of women and minorities, and these

candidates’ struggles to curry favor with voters (Kahn

1996; Niven and Zilber 2001; Smith 1997; Terkildsen and

Damore 1999). While media coverage of female candi-

dates and public officials (compared with male candidates

and officials) has received significant attention in the field

of gender politics, little scholarly research has been devoted

to identifying the variation within this population, largely

ignoring the media’s treatment of minority women who

seek and hold elective office.

467851PRQXXX10.1177/10659129124

67851Political Research QuarterlyGershon

1Georgia Sta te University, Atlant a, USA

Corresponding Author:

Sarah Allen Gershon, Department of Political Science, Georgia State

Universit y, 38 Peachtree Center Ave. Sui te 1005, Atlanta, G A

30303-2514, USA.

Email: sgershon@gsu.edu

Media Coverage of Minority

Congresswomen and Voter

Evaluations: Evidence from

an Online Experimental Study

Sarah Allen Gershon1

Abstract

Scholars of gender a nd race politics have long drawn links b etween the media’s less than favorable t reatment of

women and minorities , and these candidates’ strug gles to curry favor with voter s. However, few have examined

minority women’s coverage. This m ultimethodological stud y examines the nature and implic ations of the media’s

treatment of Angl o, Latina, and African Am erican congresswomen. The resul ts indicate significant d ifferences in the

content of these women’s media cover age and its influence on voters’ at titudes. The implication s of these findings

for Anglo and minorit y women campaigning for and holding e lective office are discusse d.

Keywords

race, gender, political communication, U.S. Congress