The Voices Forgotten by The Fourth Estate: A Report on Gender Bias in the Media Ahead of Zambia’s 2021 Elections

March 19, 2022

• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development

• Share This
  • https://giwps.georgetown.edu/resource/the-voices-forgotten-by-the-fourth-estate-a-report-on-gender-bias-in-the-media-ahead-of-zambias-2021-elections/
  • Click to print
  • Share this page via Email
  • Share this page on Pinterest
  • Share this page on Facebook
  • Share this page on X

• Downloads
  1. The Voices Forgotten by The Fourth Estate: A Report on Gender Bias in the Media Ahead of Zambia’s 2021 Elections

Summary

This report is our first analysis of the barriers that gender-biased reporting poses to women political candidates, looking at the 2021 Zambian elections as a case study.

The data collected through media monitoring and interviews with a selection of Zambian journalists and women candidates painted a concerning picture of the media landscape. The report highlights chronic underreporting of women candidates in the run-up to the Zambian 2021 general and presidential elections, with only 18.15% of 1,344 articles across 8 Zambian news outlets mentioning women candidates. Evidence of the use of toxic and derogatory language targeted at women candidates was also found.

Citation

“The Voices Forgotten by The Fourth Estate: A Report on Gender Bias in the Media Ahead of Zambia’s 2021 Elections.” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. March 2022.