Assistant Professor Dominik Stecuła recently co-authored a new research article publication in Politics & Gender. 

Stecuła’s  research studies how media coverage during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary repeated and reinforced gender stereotypes. 

The article titled, “Mayor Pete is Smart and Elizabeth Warren is Unlikable? Coverage of Warmth and Competence Traits in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary,” found that candidates were often framed using traits of warmth and competence, two things that are closely connected to gendered expectations. 

The research team looked at news stories from different media outlets and noticed clear patterns. They found that certain traits were more often used when talking about male or female candidates.

This specific coverage can shape how voters think about candidates. If the media uses unfair language, it can affect how seriously people take women running for office.

For example, men were frequently described as intelligent and accomplished, while women were often judged negatively based on their warmth. These characteristics suggest media portrayals continue to repeat traditional gender biases in political reporting.