Women are not receiving media prominence and are being marginalised in coverage of the European Referendum, claims new study.
The report, conducted by the Loughborough University Centre for Research in Communication and Culture (CRCC), has revealed that at no time during the coverage has women’s presence exceeded 20 per cent.
The study revealed that women only accounted for 13 per cent of the individuals in the press, compared to 87 per cent male coverage. Women’s representation fared better on television, with 24 per cent of females compared to 76 per cent of males. However, women are still outnumbered by men three to one.
The research suggests that there has been a slight increase in female presence, as the coverage has gone on, possibly due to a number of complaints about the lack of female voices.
Female Labour MP, Harriet Harman has recently waded into the debate, asking ‘why should we trust the likes of Boris Johnson with our rights as women?’
She came out in support of the remaining the EU and claimed that women’s rights could not be guaranteed if Britain leaves.
This news comes despite the fact that female voters could decide the outcome of the EU referendum. A report by British Future also suggested that many women haven’t decided which way they will be voting and many others are yet to be fully convinced one way or another.
The EU referendum will be decided on Thursday 23rd June as Britain goes to the polls. Current opinion polls are predicted a close finish with 51 per cent of people voting to leave, compared to 49 per cent remaining.
You can view the results of the ‘Media Coverage of the EU Referendum’ report here.
