With the aim of contributing to a better understanding of persisting inequalities and emerging challenges, this special issue of ComPol brings together articles that reflect the diversity and richness of scholarly approaches to gender and media today, with a special focus on the politics of media gender equality – a topic that seems to have attracted so far only marginal attention by researchers worldwide. Gathering contributions from different regions of the world, this collection presents explorations on policy measures adopted at the national level or by media organizations; and critically reflects on existing provisions, policy discourses, and the potential for diverse voices to speak and be heard in mainstream, alternative and digital media. It also explores the frames, the discourses and the norms that result in and, at the same time, reflect the historical variability of gender (in)equality in the media. It investigates political communication in relation to languages and narratives, and digital media usage by female politicians. It offers revised analytical perspectives that help clarifying the policy dimension of what we define «media gender equality regimes». Finally, it offers new empirical evidence on mediated gender inequalities, taking advantage of the potential of emerging computer-assisted research techniques.

Table of Contents

Essays

• Claudia Padovani and Elena Pavan, The Politics of Media Gender Equality. Lessons learned and struggles for change twenty years after the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Wome
• Margaret Gallagher, Gender and Media. A critical analysis 20 years after Beijing
• Iva Nenadic and Alina Ostling,Public Service Media in Europe. Gender equality policies and the representation of women in decision-making roles
• Carolina Justo von Lurzer, Gender and Sexualities in Contemporary Communication Policies in Argentina
• Barbara Gaweda, The Recent Uprising against Gender Equality. Exploring the discursive construction of the «war on genderism» in Poland
• Maria Stover and Elza Ibroscheva, #ImWithHer. Hillary Clinton’s strategic use of Twitter during the 2016 presidential campaign

Strumenti

• Abigail Odozi Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Faith Aanu Oloruntoba and Babatunde Adeshina Faustino, Gender Responsive Election Coverage in Nigeria. A score card of 2015 general elections
• Nagamallika Gudipaty, Gendered Public Spaces. Online trolling of women journalists in India
• Jocelyn Burbach, Female Politicians and the Use of Twitter for Identity Construction
• Elena Pavan, Sara Tonelli and Giovanni Moretti, Leveraging Big Data to Study Media Discourse on Equal Opportunities. Insights from a pilot study on Italy