Sign the GenderAvenger Petition for Morning Joe to Bring More Women to the Table

Lots of people are asking “Will we have a woman president?” At GenderAvenger, we’re asking “Will women have a say in how people think about the presidential campaign?”

Right now, the answer appears to be “Not so much.”

At least that appears to be the case on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. I watched the show all last week to see how many women were among the panelists discussing presidential politics. With the exception of Thursday, when the entire show was devoted to the tragic shooting in southern California, the presidential candidates, their statements, and their chances of winning their party’s nomination dominated the conversation.

How many women (other than co-host Mika Brzezinski)
appeared on Morning Joe's daily panels?

Monday: ZERO
Tuesday: ZERO
Wednesday: ONE
Friday: ONE

Most incredible was the complete absence of women on Tuesday’s show originating from New Hampshire, where, the last time there were contested primaries in both parties in 2008, 57% of the voters were women!

Where are the women? Are men going to be the sole interpreters of the 2016 election for viewers of Morning Joe? Our greatest frustration is how easy it should be to fix given the number of really smart women who are part of the political class.

So, let’s tell Mika and Joe to fix it. Sign the GenderAvenger letter and call upon them to create gender balance in coverage of presidential politics.

(By the way, we’re not just calling out Morning Joe. We are also working to fund an election year initiative to monitor six of the major cable news shows to ensure women are included in this important dialog.)

Sign the letter now. Do it for me… and do it for everyone who gets their news from morning cable shows.
 

GenderAvenger Petition to Morning Joe 

Dear Mika and Joe,

Where are the women? Over a four-day twelve-hour period when presidential politics was the most discussed panel topic on Morning Joe, you featured a total of two women commentators. On two of those days, not one woman was included in the dialog. In 2008, the last time there was a contested primary for both parties’ nomination, 57% of New Hampshire primary voters were women, yet on the day you spent there, you chose only men to discuss the presidential race.

Women’s voices belong in the discussion – from economics, national security, and health care to polls and more.

In the last two general elections, women represented 53% of the vote, yet you have rendered them invisible among your campaign analysts.

Bring women to the table. The conversation is richer, the debate is more interesting, and the show is more appealing when all voices are heard.

We will be watching… and counting.