Yesterday, we wrote about the OpEd Project study that concluded that female journalists are usually confined to "pink" topics. (You know: Shopping! Cooking! Rolling our eyes at being stereotyped!) But it turns out that even on more serious "pink" stories, like abortion, men are over 5 times more likely to be quoted than women.
This infographic is care of The 4th Estate, a new project that monitors 2012 election coverage and aims to "replace anecdote and speculation about the 2012 Election with visual intelligence based on statistical analysis of the media." A worthy goal!
Check out the difference between the number of men and women quoted on issues like abortion, birth control, and Planned Parenthood. "Women are significantly under-represented in 2012 election coverage in major media outlets," the site explains. "…in front page articles about the 2012 election that mention abortion or birth control, men are 4 to 7 times more likely to be cited than women."
The stats are fascinating — and depressing — but The 4th Estate doesn't specify whether these men are being quoted as "experts" on the subjects or if they represent the frustratingly high number of male politicians who think they know all there is to know about vaginas. (However, the data does exclude candidate statements.) Maybe it's possible that the results have less to do with industry sexism and are instead indicative of the never-ending War on Women? Either way, it's fucked.