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

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.

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