What is Media Bias, and How Does it Affect Women’s Leadership?

We consume media daily, and it shapes our worldviews and perspective on important topics. However, upon careful inspection, you can find some distinct trends in how the media talks about leaders. It directly impacts how we view our leaders and their leadership style. Although not a serious threat to male leaders, it is one of the barriers to female leadership. This article will take a detailed look at media bias and how it affects women’s leadership.   

What is Media Bias?

While there are several definitions of media bias, at its core, it is a tendency among news producers and journalists to select and report events and stories that reinforce a particular viewpoint, preference, financial interest, political ideology, policy inclination, or moral framework, instead of dealing with them objectively. One can easily find a prejudiced approach from a media outlet in how they report any event, making it appear more substantial. According to the survey results shared by Business Insider–

     “Americans believe that 62% of the news they consume on TV, in newspapers, and on the radio — and 80% of the news they see on social media — is biased.”

There are three basic types of biases – selection bias, information bias, and co-founding. Among the three, the most common is information bias, as media either distort information or present incorrect information systematically that alters people’s perspectives.

How Does It Affect Women’s Leadership?    

How someone is discussed and what aspects about them are being discussed tends to influence others’ perspectives. Characteristics like level-headedness, passion, persuasiveness, and strong often come to mind when we discuss successful leadership. However, the bias against women becomes apparent when they get referred to as emotional, cold, or bitchy after taking on leadership roles.  

While the media has always manipulated their audience’s perspective regarding women’s leadership, this gender bias has also affected how women leaders perceive themselves. Research says that to create good leaders, one must portray them as relatable. However, most women leaders are less likely to pursue leadership roles when they are exposed to media images of other women in stereotypical roles.  

Media bias can become a major leadership barrier due to how women leaders are portrayed. According to Marissa Mayer, the former President and CEO of Yahoo, women are often judged regarding their appearance, attitudes, or families, leading to further judgments about their leadership. In 2016, when Hilary Clinton was in contention to become the first female President of America, several articles concerned her appearance. For example, there were articles about Hilary Clinton sporting a new pantsuit.  

Research conducted by the Kellogg Business School found that companies that appoint female CEOs and receive a lot of media attention are likely to witness a fall in their share prices. On the other hand, companies with female bosses that stay out of the limelight are likely to see a jump in their share prices. This suggests that investors react negatively to such media speculation and sell their shares, bringing down the share prices. In contrast, when a company receives media coverage for appointing a male CEO, its stock prices are boosted.            

Media bias also becomes apparent for women in business when it comes to pregnancy and parenthood. When Mary Barra became the CEO of General Motors in 2014, she was questioned whether she could manage her professional duties along with her motherhood. However, when Mark Fields was appointed the head of Ford, there were no questions regarding his work suffering due to his parenthood.     

How To Overcome This Media Bias?

The biggest step that needs to be taken by the media is to give women a spot on the table. From the ’roundtable’ technique to the ‘point/counter’ technique, several effective methods can enable more women to speak up for themselves or represent others.  

Change must also be brought into the way we consume media. As viewers, we must not allow ourselves to have skewed opinions or perspectives regarding women’s leadership and the easiest way to do this is by spending our time getting different perspectives from multiple outlets and sources. This makes it very easy to identify false representations. Such gender biases are so inherent in our society that sometimes they become unconscious. Therefore, one needs to be diligent to find the truth. We must perceive and listen to our leaders for who they are and not what they are made out to be by others. 

While it is difficult to avoid media bias completely, you need to understand it before overcoming it. From acknowledging that your preferred media house is biased to making a conscious effort to identify and understand those biases while going through the daily news, you must also vow to engage in discussions only on bias-free platforms. Such steps can help you mitigate such biases and help you overcome media bias.