Media framing of women in political and non-political spaces an analysis of how newspapers framed women leaders in Ghana from 2009 to 2010

Abstract

This study examined the media coverage of women leaders in political and non-political spaces. The study identified the frames used in news coverage and the degree to which the representations reinforce the theoretical assumptions that the media engage in symbolic annihilation in representing women leaders. Again, the study sought to discover the reason behind the frames from the perspective of the journalist. The research also analysed the perceptions of the women leaders towards these frames. In addition, the study determined whether the frames employed are dependent on the particular space occupied by the woman leader. The study informed by framing analysis, employed Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA), a research design that combined both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect and analyse data from three Ghanaian newspapers: Daily Graphic, Daily Guide and The Ghanaian Times. Another source of data analysed is interviews with the journalists who wrote the stories as well as women who were covered in the news stories. The findings of this study provide evidences of strong socio-cultural gender constructs that impede women’s access to and performance within leadership roles. Critical to challenging this status-quo is media identification and promotion of a female leadership norm, for women to be seen as human beings who have leadership qualities that is equal to but may not necessarily be similar to the male norm.