In both state and federal legislatures, women make up less than a third of representatives – far below equity, despite huge strides in the past 50 years. News coverage today, for perhaps the first time in U.S. history, treats women running for office with sincerity rather than novelty. The quantity of stories has increased significantly in the past decade, but the quality – while improved – remains uneven.
A 2023 Pew Research Center poll found that 62% of Americans say the media focuses too much on the physical appearance of women candidates, while the same percentage say there’s not enough focus on their policies. Nearly 60% say showing emotion hurts a woman’s chances of getting elected, but only a third say it hurts a man’s chances. Almost half say having young children disadvantages women compared to 7% for men. Yet, as evidenced by the 2024 campaign, not having biological children can be weaponized against women candidates as well.
Access the PDF of the Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics
NPF hosted a webinar on Aug. 14, 2024, reviewing the guidelines. Speakers included Sonya Ross, founder and editor-in-chief of Black Women Unmuted, Sameea Kamal, a politics reporter for CalMatters, and Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics. A transcript from the webinar is available here.
As members of society, journalists inevitably encounter and may internalize misogynistic attitudes, requiring keen awareness of biases and assumptions when reporting on women candidates and politicians – especially when gender intersects with race, sexuality, socioeconomic status and other identifying factors that have historically been discriminated against and disempowered.
The National Press Foundation’s Women in Politics Journalism Fellowship, held in April 2024, featured speakers including current and former women politicians from both sides of the aisle, election administrators, researchers and other experts.
At the conclusion of the training, the 20 journalist-fellows participating helped NPF staff create the following guidelines to aid political journalists across the country in pursuing fair, ethical coverage throughout the newsgathering process. The journalists included Emily Anderson Stern, Danielle Battaglia, April Corbin Girnus, Jeanette DeDios, Kadia Goba, Cayla Harris, Sameea Kamal, Hallie Lauer, Nancy Lavin, Jackie Llanos, Ariama C. Long, Maya Marchel Hoff, Julianne McShane, Shauneen Miranda, Anna Liz Nichols, Jill Nolin, Amanda Pérez Pintado, Shaylee Ragar, Casey Smith and Lucia Starbuck. These guidelines focus on three pillars – sourcing, language and framing – for newsrooms to consider.
Journalists in the National Press Foundation’s 2024 Covering Women in Politics fellowship pose with NPF President Anne Godlasky and Director of Journalism Initiatives Rachel Jones.
By following these best practices and sharing them with their newsrooms, we hope it helps journalists effectively report on women in politics – from lawmakers to advocates to voters – with nuance, context and accuracy.
PDF: Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics
The Women in Politics Fellowship and the creation of these guidelines were made possible with funding from Pivotal Ventures. The curriculum and content is the sole discretion of the National Press Foundation.
