NewsAccording to Now.org, CBS, ABC, and NBC have been anchored predominately by men, with a few trailblazing female co-anchors, substitutes and weekend anchors. In 2006, CBS finally hired a woman for a position equivalent with her male competitors at ABC and NBC, thus Katie Couric became the first female SOLO anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast and the program's managing editor.
According to statistics from the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) Newsroom Census, the percentage of female newsroom employees was about 37% between 1999 and 2010. In 2011, the percentage increased slightly to 40.5% (Azad). Even though women have progressed, they still remain underrepresented and over sexualized. Female news anchors are more often seen wearing low cut shirts, that expose their cleavage, and short skirts, that show their legs and thighs. This is also paired with more makeup. An Indiana University study found that enhanced sexual attractiveness boosted men's perceptions of her professionalism. Yet, when it came to assessing her competence for reporting on different kinds of news, men were not optimistic about her abilities to do a good job reporting on hard news topics (Grabe and Samson, 2011). In contrast, women who evaluated the anchor did not differ across the two versions in rating her competencies. Interestingly, women audience members remembered more newscasts delivered by the more sexualized anchor (Grabe and Samson, 2011). "Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, 'She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes.' -Clare Boothe Luce (American diplomat and writer, 1903-1987) On October 4, 1976, Barbara Walters became the first female co-anchor of an evening newscast.
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PoliticsReasons why women are underrepresented:
1. Women are substantially more likely than men to perceive the electoral environment as highly competitive and biased against female candidates. 2. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin’s candidacies aggravated women’s perceptions of gender bias in the electoral arena. 3. Women are much less likely than men to think they are qualified to run for office. 4. Female potential candidates are less competitive, less confident, and more risk averse than their male counterparts. 5. Women react more negatively than men to many aspects of modern campaigns. 6. Women are less likely than men to receive the suggestion to run for office, from anyone. 7. Women are still responsible for the majority of childcare and household tasks. Lawless and Fox, 2012 |