Women in the Media

Women running for the Knesset have to overcome not only voters' gender stereotypes, but a media landscape that is heavily skewed in men's favor.

You might think that with more women entering politics the media would have become less likely to report on the appearance, fashion choices and relationship status of female prime ministers.

But research from the Australian National University shows the opposite is true: the media obsession with female PMs' gender is worsening.

Every general election is haunted by the ghosts of campaigns past.

On Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's Facebook page, you can find videos ranging from an announcement in Des Moines, Iowa, that her campaign has reached $2 million in donations to one with the Massachusetts senator looking into the camera, explaining her plan to help U.S. teachers.

It's on Twitter that Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican from Tennessee and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tech Task Force, calls on followers to safeguard their personal data.

Boris Johnson on Wednesday night sparked a tide of criticism by dismissing suggestions that his rhetoric was dangerous in the current climate and claiming the best way to honour the memory of murdered MP Jo Cox was to “get Brexit done”.

Erin Schrode, who was running for Congress in her Northern California district in 2016, reports that while she was running, she would wake up each morning to countless abusive messages on her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Erin Schrode is far from alone.

Artificial intelligence is tracking the vile comments hurled at female Alberta politicians during the election campaign.

“One of the major barriers that women face when they're thinking of running for office, especially lately, is the abuse they receive online,” explained ParityYEG co-founder Lana Cuthbert.

The bot, sponsored by Edmonton non-profit ParityYEG, tracks every tweet mentioning a woman in the election race.