Mass Media's Distortion of Female Officials: Just Another Symptom

Chinese judicial authorities launched an initiative code-named "Skynet" in April 2015 to hunt down corrupt officials at large overseas and confiscate their illegal assets. As part of the crackdown, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) China National Central Bureau recently issued arrest warrants for 100 missing officials, attracting widespread public attention and media coverage.

Some media outlets, however, have intentionally highlighted information concerning female fugitive officials involved through exaggerated headlines and image processing. In this era of skim-over-it reading, titles like "Biggest Female Corrupt Official" along with gathered images of female officials tend to give people the impression that all the fugitive officials are women and that it is the women who have committed the worst crimes in this respect.

As a matter of fact, data from the Interpol China National Central Bureau shows only 23 of the 100 wanted officials are women. Moreover, previous research studies have proven that gender has no actual concrete correlation with occurrence of corruption, though females do indeed differ from males in their motivation for and methods of taking bribes. Therefore, the media outlets involved have distorted not only the images of Chinese female officials but also the reality of the situation itself, constituting a violation of their own professional ethics and misleading the public opinion. Such dishonest practices employed as a cheap means of attracting readers should be halted.

It must also be pointed out that female officials still comprise a relatively small proportion within Chinese government organizations and are constantly facing all sorts of challenges brought about merely by their gender. The general public often concentrates more on professional-women’s appearance than on their abilities and even raises doubts about their role and participation in politics. The traditional stereotypes that have long been encircling women have stifled female officials, penning them beneath a rigid yet impalpable "glass ceiling"and forcing them to confront undue challenges and pressures throughout their career and everyday tasks.

Under these circumstances, media outlets should enhance their role in publicizing the fundamental national policy of gender equality and promoting gender awareness. Moreover, their work ethics require them to respect the facts and truth of a situation and to cover events in a fair and just manner. If progress and justice can indeed prevail, only then shall there be the chance for the favorable environment — one characteristic of rule-of-law and graced with impartial public opinion — that female officials and women beyond in China rightfully deserve.

(Source: cnwomen.com.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)