The media visibility research for young women in politics: The Nigeria Report

About the Study

Visibility of Young Women in Politics in Nigeria investigates the level of visibility the media ascribes to young female politicians. Based on content analysis and a Focus Group Discussion (FGD), the study’s outcome highlights the reportorial styles and thematic representations that journalists use to portray young women in politics. It further analyses perceptions of young female politicians regarding how the media reports them, including recommendations for best practice. The report considers the following research questions and objectives.

Research Questions

In answering the research questions, the report found that young women in politics have very low visibility in the media. Content analysis of the editions of four national newspapers across six months showed that only eight stories were devoted to young women in politics, the likely implication being the normalisation of the view that young women have no place in politics. Findings further reveal the reportorial styles and five thematic representations of young female politicians in the eight stories.
The five themes include young women as political leaders, young women as political actors, young women as dependent on the older generation, young women as influential trailblazers, and intimidation and young women as victims of society.

For the FGD, six young women in politics discussed their perception of media visibility for young female politicians and the issues connected to this visibility. The discussion yielded five themes: sexism and bias in media coverage, portrayal of young female politicians as incomplete without men, inadequate mentorship and support from other women, youth condescension and the influence of money politics, and media and strategic support for young women’s visibility. The implications of the focus group findings point to a reduction in the participation of young women in politics that is likely to continue in the future, a tokenistic approach to addressing young women’s underrepresentation in politics, and a trivialising of young female politicians and their contribution – all because of a perception of problematic media portrayal of young women in politics.

The target audience for the study includes journalists, editors, and other media professionals who decide about media content and the visibility that young women in politics have. The report will also support the work that gender advocates and civil society actors carry out, especially concerning the representation of young women in politics, and provide relevant data and insights for researchers.

Findings of the Study

For the media monitoring, the report reviewed the editorial items published across the four newspapers during the six months. The report found overall that 232 editorial items related to women in politics. This was the first step towards ascertaining the data on the visibility of young women in politics, which is the central objective of the report. This finding on low visibility for women in politics highlights the central outcome of the study, which is that female politicians had very low visibility in the Nigerian media. And even more so during an election season, when politics takes center stage in national discourse. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the pattern of reportage likely corresponds to the data on female participation in the elections.

This second part of the findings concludes the presentation of the results. It is based on an FGD with six young women in Nigeria who play recognisable roles in political or policy circles. The discussion focused on the challenges that young women in politics face in Nigeria and the issues that they want the media to be mindful of when reporting on young women in politics. Overall, the outcome yielded five interconnected themes, the first highlighting a perception of sexism and bias in media coverage of young female politicians. This connects to objectified, sexualised media coverage portraying women through the male lens dominating news operations, as well as the practice of showing ‘cosmetised vulnerability’ -where young female politicians receive coverage depicting them in unrealistic, idealised terms. The report further noted that issues around objectified and sexualised coverage point to the effect of patriarchal power structures and the influence that men wield over media operations and content.

Overall, the implications of the focus group findings are far-reaching. The participants’ conclusions on biased and objectified media coverage are consequential for the broader participation of women in politics. It could also potentially mean that even if women gain access to leadership roles, these are likely to be tokenistic, given the effect that sensational and problematic media coverage have on the way that women (and their contribution) are trivialised. This underscores why it is important for researchers, media professionals, and civil society groups to monitor media representation of young female politicians to
identify areas where changes are needed – to promote the visibility of young women in politics.

Conclusion of the Study

The report aimed to investigate the visibility of young women in politics in Nigeria. Consideration was given to the barriers that young women face when participating in elections in Nigeria and the patterns of visibility that the media renders to them. Evidence in the literature showed that women face barriers along formal and informal lines that prevent them from participating effectively in politics. Previous studies further showed that media visibility for women in politics is low and is influenced by sexist and patriarchal factors. None of these studies considered media visibility for young women in politics – this
is one intervention that the report makes to fill a gap in the literature. In making this intervention, the report utilised media monitoring and FGD, with evidence showing that media visibility for young women in politics is extremely low – only eight editorial items over six months during Nigeria’s 2023 elections.

Recommendations of the Study

Based on the findings, the report recommended that action be taken in two key areas. First is the need to institute formal and informal policies to address barriers to young women participation in politics. Second is the importance of redefining media structure and content to reflect adequate visibility for young female politicians. These recommendations are vital in ensuring that the media significantly improves the visibility it grants to young female politicians and that this is done in objective rather than biased or sensational ways, given the effect that this will have on female participation in political and leadership roles. We hope these recommendations will be acted upon in the interest of gender equity in political participation and media visibility for young women in politics in Nigeria.