Bridging the Gap: How Gender Influences Spanish Politicians’ Activity on Twitter

Abstract

Women have historically been underrepresented in politics. However, in the last few decades, more and more women have been elected to both upper and lower houses, particularly in Spain. Social media has become one >of the main channels for women to gain visibility, but the issue of unequal distribution of power and influence between men and women remains. This paper sheds light on gender differences among politicians on Twitter by analyzing the social media activity and influence of 277 of the 350 Members of the Spanish Congress of Deputies from March to June 2020. Our research shows there are still major gender differences regarding audience figures and amplification and that both male and female politicians still largely retweet more men than women. In addition, we found significant differences between parties and across the political spectrum, although these are less prominent (albeit not neutralized) in parties with a female leader. This is in keeping with studies that have found broad similarities between male and female politicians’ communicative practices, but a persistently large gap to be bridged in terms of their online influence. Female leaders are proposed as a means to bridge this gap.