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Lucy Rak

Bio: Lucy Rak is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Business sector & Women in business. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 6 citations.

Papers
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01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the frequency with which men and women are mentioned in three top-selling American business magazines (Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and Fortune) between 2015 and 2017.
Abstract: Despite their growing presence within the business sector, women have long been under- and misrepresented in business media, with negative consequences for their entrepreneurial and other work aspirations. Research into the frequency with which women are featured and cited in business media, as well as the dominant discourses in terms of which they are represented, has repeatedly found patriarchal biases that undermine women’s position in the world of business. However, most of these studies are now outdated and many focus only on female entrepreneurs, are non-representative small-scale case studies, or do not subject business media coverage of women to fine-grained linguistic analysis. In this paper, therefore, we document how women (in general) are represented in three top-selling American business magazines (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune) between 2015 and 2017. First, we compare the frequency with which men and women are mentioned across all articles published in this time period (n=2,317), to determine any statistically significant variation Second, using a representative subset of sample articles (n=63), we identify the number of times women are mentioned per article, to gauge the level of prominence accorded to them. Third, we use Hallidayan (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004) transitivity analysis and van Leeuwen’s (1996) representation of social actors framework to document the level and types of behavior ascribed to women, as well as the category labels used to depict them. Lastly, drawing on current business studies scholarship and related grey literature, we situate media portrayals of women within twenty-first century North American business culture. This paper contributes to a growing literature on media representations of powerful women and provides gender equality advocates – including those within both business and business media – with valuable information about how media coverage of women can better reflect and construct women’s position in the business world.

8 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
29 Jan 2021-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: This article examined gender bias in media by tallying the number of men and women quoted in news text, using the Gender Gap Tracker, a software system developed specifically for this purpose, and found that, in general, men are quoted about three times as frequently as women.
Abstract: We examine gender bias in media by tallying the number of men and women quoted in news text, using the Gender Gap Tracker, a software system we developed specifically for this purpose. The Gender Gap Tracker downloads and analyzes the online daily publication of seven English-language Canadian news outlets and enhances the data with multiple layers of linguistic information. We describe the Natural Language Processing technology behind this system, the curation of off-the-shelf tools and resources that we used to build it, and the parts that we developed. We evaluate the system in each language processing task and report errors using real-world examples. Finally, by applying the Tracker to the data, we provide valuable insights about the proportion of people mentioned and quoted, by gender, news organization, and author gender. Data collected between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2020 shows that, in general, men are quoted about three times as frequently as women. While this proportion varies across news outlets and time intervals, the general pattern is consistent. We believe that, in a world with about 50% women, this should not be the case. Although journalists naturally need to quote newsmakers who are men, they also have a certain amount of control over who they approach as sources. The Gender Gap Tracker relies on the same principles as fitness or goal-setting trackers: By quantifying and measuring regular progress, we hope to motivate news organizations to provide a more diverse set of voices in their reporting.

6 citations

19 May 2020
TL;DR: This article used Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to investigate the differences in use of language and capacity of coverage between articles featuring female figures and articles featuring male figures of three leading business magazines from January 2018 to March 2020.
Abstract: This study seeks to contribute to the existing literature about how women have been consistently represented in the media in a biased and stereotyped manner, especially in comparison with their male counterparts. Using an advanced computational, text-analysis program called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), it investigates possible differences in use of language and capacity of coverage between articles featuring female figures and articles featuring male figures of three leading business magazines: Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc. from January 2018 to March 2020. Categories evaluated include word count, certainty, power, affiliation, and future-focused orientation. Results demonstrate that women are portrayed in less certain, less future-focused language, and especially are given strikingly lower word counts than men. However, there are no significant differences in the use of powerful and affiliative language between the two groups. This study then further discusses what implications these findings have regarding the status of women in public perceptions with assumptions about how women may overcome gender bias that future research can address.

1 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2021-Heliyon
TL;DR: The authors explored the representation of women in crime reporting and its influence on readership and found that women are underrepresented in crime reports, and their portrayal also strengthens gender stereotypes, which in turn supports patriarchal order.

1 citations