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Painting the Town Pink:
How Media Coverage of Women Candidates Influences Electoral Outcomes
Submitted by: April Demert
Introduction
While almost 80% of Americans say that women should be more visible in elected
positions voters often use stricter standards to evaluate women candidates than men, making it
more difficult for women to get elected (The White House Project 2003). The number of women
at all levels of elected office remains very low, particularly when considering that women voters
outnumbered men in the last five Presidential elections (Jamieson, Shin & Day, 2002). In
addition, research has found that Americans say they would vote for a woman running for U.S.
President and for other elected offices. A poll conducted by Roper ASW in conjunction with the
White House Project in April of 2002 found that 76% of Americans feel comfortable with the
idea of a woman President, and 82% feel comfortable with a woman Vice President (RoperASW
2002). However, when asked if they believed their neighbors would be comfortable with a
woman as President or Vice President, the number of respondents who agree dropped to 50%
and 68% respectively. This discrepancy may highlight an underlying inconsistency in
Americans’ opinions of women in politics. “We cannot overlook this gap between Americans’
perceptions of their neighbors and what they say they personally are prepared to accept. In
opinion polls, we often see a tendency for people to assign to others those attitudes that they may
feel (uncomfortable) expressing personally.” (RoperASW 2002)