Female expertise in public discourses. Visibility of female compared to male scientific experts in German media coverage of eight science related issues

Abstract

A fair (public) representation of women is one of the most discussed questions of our time. The way in which media coverage (re)produces genders may affect individual and collective thinking and the assessment and perceptions of women in society. We analyse the representation of female scientists in German news media coverage about eight science-related risk issues and compare male and female experts regarding their relative scientific reputation, the number of references and the content of their statements. Our findings show that female scientific experts play a subordinate role in German media coverage and that they are underrepresented compared to the respective proportions in the relevant research areas. At the same time, our data relativize the extent of the gender visibility gap, as the differences – after controlling for hierarchical position and scientific reputation – become rather small. Further, we find no evidence of discrimination against female scientific experts through journalistic selection routines.