Female politicians: a mixed political communication model

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn the past political sphere, masculine verbal and nonverbal behaviour were keys to political success among female politicians. The current study aims to examine and identify the communication patterns of female politicians to date. The study presents a gender communication framework, based on an aggregation of numerous articles in the field that maps gender patterns of verbal and nonverbal communication. Twelve female politicians in senior political positions from 5 democratic Western countries were analysed and 24 speeches were explored, all within the political sphere of parliaments. The findings revealed a novel mixed communication model indicating that female politicians’ communication consisted of a combination of feminine nonverbal expressions and masculine verbal communicative patterns. Furthermore, the mixed communication model of female politicians was analysed for social categories, which uniquely delineated significant effects for seniority and age. This study expands the theoretical and analytical research on female politicians and develops a composite framework, providing a gender-oriented approach to political communication.