TV's political talk shows shun women

Joan Ryan talks about the reality of political inequality...

So when a study released Tuesday revealed that just 14 percent of the guests on the influential Sunday morning political talk shows are women, and that 56 percent of the episodes included no women at all, I wondered if anyone was surprised. I wasn't. One need only listen to the weekly interviews and discussions -- the dearth of ideas, the ponderous iteration of solutions that haven't worked, the recycled assumptions that rattle inside the beltway like a shoe in a dryer -- to know that women aren't at the table.

Why should we be surprised? We have seen a lot of inequality lately. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina made it painfully clear that the cabal of white men that make up most of the BushCo administration are from another time and don't plan to ever level the playing field. Their failure to protect the poor black and white folks of the Gulf Coast show the stack reality of our security as well. Security is provided based on privilege and class.

Chris Grumm, President & CEO of the Women's Funding Network, whom Ryan interviewed, asks:

"Is security only about the number of military people in the field? Or is security also about people being economically secure so they don't want to go take over another village? Is security about people having political access to make their lives better?" she asked. "Women bring a different set of questions, different agenda items, that come from a different view of the world."

Because women are so poorly represented, the shows perpetuate the public impression that "women lack the credibility, expertise and authority to address our nation's most significant problems," as the study's authors put it.

And, as you know, this is quite untrue. I will be a little more frank than Ms. Ryan: The imbalance in politics today attributes to the failures of fairness and justice within our governmental bodies. The state of warmongering that has so consumed us only reveals the BushCo has no respect nor understanding in the role of women and all citizens, for that matter, in the idea and practice of Democracy. Nor do they seem to care that balance of power, dissent, community, human rights, and protection are all fundamental ingredients that keep a democratic society intact.

Ryan remarks:

The more we can see and hear women who have been anointed on television as serious commentators and authorities, the more confidence the public will have in voting women into Congress and someday the White House. And the more we hear from knowledgeable women, the greater the range of ideas and perspectives pouring into the political marketplace -- thus the more likely we are to make inroads on problems that have not responded to traditional solutions.

And that is the rub. We now realize that the current governmental solutions are not working. Bringing in new progressive ideas is a huge challenge, but definitely possible. It will take basic baby steps to move in the right direction. The first step? - Change the balance of power in Congress in the Mid-term elections...


Go to SheSource.org for a list of expert women who can speak on a variety of issues - launched by the White House Project and Fenton Communications. It also explores the study in question.