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Chapter 7. Women in politics and the media

The discursive construction of collaboration for female leadership in Cameroon
  • Lilian Lem Atanga and Alexandre T. Djimeli
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Discourse, Politics and Women as Global Leaders
This chapter is in the book Discourse, Politics and Women as Global Leaders

Abstract

This chapter analyses discursive construction of collaboration of women in politics and the media in Cameroon. Using interviews and data from print and audio-visual media, we examine how female journalists and politicians strategically exploit opportunities and gaps within the system to increase numbers of women in decision making positions. We analyze data using Critical Discourse Analysis (Wodak & Meyer 2009). We identify discourses of collaboration and discourses that subvert traditional gender ideologies about women as not public (in politics and media). Drawing on discourses such as “the sisterhood discourse,” female journalists and politicians collaborate to exploit systemic gaps such as shortage of media programs to include programs that empower women or conduct interviews highlighting women’s voices and equality discourse.

Abstract

This chapter analyses discursive construction of collaboration of women in politics and the media in Cameroon. Using interviews and data from print and audio-visual media, we examine how female journalists and politicians strategically exploit opportunities and gaps within the system to increase numbers of women in decision making positions. We analyze data using Critical Discourse Analysis (Wodak & Meyer 2009). We identify discourses of collaboration and discourses that subvert traditional gender ideologies about women as not public (in politics and media). Drawing on discourses such as “the sisterhood discourse,” female journalists and politicians collaborate to exploit systemic gaps such as shortage of media programs to include programs that empower women or conduct interviews highlighting women’s voices and equality discourse.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Discourse, politics and women 1
  4. Part I. Discursive features of leadership
  5. Chapter 1. “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” 21
  6. Chapter 2. Breaking the glass & keeping the ceiling 43
  7. Chapter 3. Under fire 67
  8. Part II. Discourse, media and power
  9. Chapter 4. Twitter as political discourse 93
  10. Chapter 5. Gender and political discourse in Tunisia 121
  11. Chapter 6. Julia Gillard 149
  12. Chapter 7. Women in politics and the media 169
  13. Part III. Leadership, identity and the public
  14. Chapter 8. “Thank you for heckling me” 195
  15. Chapter 9. Governors debating 217
  16. Chapter 10. Discourses of female leaders in postcolonial Hong Kong 251
  17. Part IV. Styling the leader
  18. Chapter 11. Governing in the gendered structure of power 275
  19. Chapter 12. The ball is in the women’s court 293
  20. Chapter 13. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 315
  21. Conclusion 345
  22. About the authors 353
  23. Index 359
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.63.08ata

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Discourse, politics and women 1
  4. Part I. Discursive features of leadership
  5. Chapter 1. “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” 21
  6. Chapter 2. Breaking the glass & keeping the ceiling 43
  7. Chapter 3. Under fire 67
  8. Part II. Discourse, media and power
  9. Chapter 4. Twitter as political discourse 93
  10. Chapter 5. Gender and political discourse in Tunisia 121
  11. Chapter 6. Julia Gillard 149
  12. Chapter 7. Women in politics and the media 169
  13. Part III. Leadership, identity and the public
  14. Chapter 8. “Thank you for heckling me” 195
  15. Chapter 9. Governors debating 217
  16. Chapter 10. Discourses of female leaders in postcolonial Hong Kong 251
  17. Part IV. Styling the leader
  18. Chapter 11. Governing in the gendered structure of power 275
  19. Chapter 12. The ball is in the women’s court 293
  20. Chapter 13. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 315
  21. Conclusion 345
  22. About the authors 353
  23. Index 359
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