NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT KEGYME – The profile of female politicians in Cyprus’ TV: An analysis based on gender

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January 9, 2026

Title: “The integration of the gender dimension in the Cyprus Media and its relation with the perceptions of young people. Comparison with the EU’s proclaimed policy”

Sensitizing and raising awareness through research-product material, both transnational and differential according to the partner-context

Duration: 3 years, October 2011 – December 2014

Funding: Research Promotion Foundation (Research, Technological Development and Innovation Programme Package 2009-2010 – ANTHROPRISTICS/KOINO/0609(BE))Funding: Research Promotion Foundation (Research, Technological Development and Innovation Programme Package 2009-2010)

Short description: The project aimed to describe the profile of Cypriot women politicians as presented through Cypriot television and specifically a) to investigate in depth the profile of women politicians on Cypriot television (one year period) by examining the parameters related to quantitative and qualitative presence, invitation themes, discourse and stereotypical projection, b) to outline the profile in relation to the corresponding mode of projection and discourse of male politicians, c) to analyse the profile through semi-structured interviews with party leaders, a sample of MPs (male and female), owners – directors of the pan-Cypriot TV stations and journalists, d) to contribute with the dissemination of its results to the awareness of the role of the media in promoting equal participation of men and women in political decision making by politicians, as well as by the competent media institutions and the general public, strengthening the voice of Cypriot women politicians in parallel and in cooperation with the voice of male politicians, d) to contribute by disseminating its results in order to raise awareness of the role of the media in promoting the equal participation of men and women in political decision-making, both by politicians and by the relevant media bodies and the general public, strengthening the voice of Cypriot women politicians in parallel and in cooperation with the voice of male politicians. The methodology applied varied during the different phases of the project development: Closed Capture Observation/Recording of TV programmes and news bulletins (Pantti, 2007; Koutselini & Agathangelou, 2006), Content Analysis, Speech Analysis and Semantic Analysis of representative samples to examine the way women politicians’ speech and projection is presented in a sample of programmes and news bulletins and compare it with the corresponding way of projection and speech of male politicians. The content analysis, which is based more on quantitative data, was complemented by Discourse Analysis and Semiotic Analysis. The aim of this interdisciplinary model was to show how different semiotic modes (visual and linguistic) contribute to the promotion of stereotypes in the way women and men politicians are presented. Discourse analysis provided an in-depth understanding of the discourse. Elements of primary data analysis were used in the semi-structured interviews with people from the media and politics. The importance and necessity of the project arose from the need to strengthen the practice of the media in Cyprus – one of the most important socialization mechanisms – on the promotion of women politicians in order to respond to the policies of the European Union (EU) (Commission of the European Communities, 2006) and UNESCO (2008) on the one hand, and the need to promote women’s participation in the political life of the country on the other (Republic of Cyprus, 2007).

The project’s network: Cooperation network: The project was coordinated by the UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality and the Centre for Gender Studies of the University of Cyprus, under the scientific responsibility of the former Director of the Chair and the Centre, Professor Emerita Mary Koutselini, Department of Education. The project network was completed by three collaborating institutions: the Cyprus Broadcasting Authority, the Cyprus Union of Journalists and the Centre for Scientific Dialogue and Research.

Project Results: For the full report of the project results (in Greek), click here.