‘She is, after all, a woman’: Uncovering gender bias in the Tunisian women candidates’ radio interviews

Tunisia’s parity law promises the empowerment of women politicians and a greater chance for them to play a direct and significant role in Tunisia’s second republic. Testing for ‘democratic learning’ at work in Tunisia’s expanding media space, an analysis of media coverage of women candidates in the last municipal elections indicates that lingering sexism towards women candidates is deep and alive. The examination of 32 interviews of women candidates during the 2018 municipal election campaign reveals the covert bias that affects images of women candidates. The analysis indicates that there was a considerable amount of negative coverage of women candidates and that such coverage aims to cast doubt not only on women’s suitability for office. Further, the analysis suggests a determination by the political elite to retain political knowledge in small circles and not disclose it to open discussion. This study also finds that covert gender bias is buried under an avalanche of polarized discourse – Islamists vs. secularists – that journalists through their gatekeeping roles not only use but also reinforce. Tunisia’s media is not playing a leading role in the country’s ongoing processes of democratic learning.