A recent media monitoring report launched by Wambui Wamunyu reveals a significant gender gap in political news coverage, with women being underrepresented as political news sources, content producers, and analysts. The report highlights the need for more diverse and inclusive media coverage and provides recommendations for achieving gender equality in politics.
The media monitoring report launch event, which took place on April 28, was attended by esteemed guests, including media representatives, politicians, civil society activists, and gender equality advocates. The report, which analyzed media coverage of political news over the past Kenya general elections, revealed that women are vastly underrepresented in political news coverage.
According to the report, about 40% of political news sources were women, and female experts and analysts were also underrepresented. Additionally, the report found that women’s perspectives were often marginalized, with their voices and opinions not given equal weight as those of their male counterparts.
In light of these findings, the report provides recommendations for improving gender equality in political news coverage. The first recommendation is for editorial decision-making to include deliberate efforts to involve both genders as political news sources, content producers, and analysts. This can enhance coverage by recognizing diverse perspectives and spaces.
Another critical recommendation is a review of campaign finance structures and mechanisms to enable equal opportunity for both genders in funding their electoral campaigns. This includes policies related to the financial support political parties provide to candidates and expenditure limits on electoral races.
During the launch event, the speakers emphasized the need for collaboration between media organizations, civil society groups, and political stakeholders to implement these recommendations effectively. Achieving gender equality in political news coverage requires a collective effort from all players involved.
Read the full report below.
