I’m on the email list of The White House Project, a non-profit that advances women’s leadership in both the public and private sectors. The name of the organization refers to the goal of having a woman as U.S. president.

The following question comes from one of their recent emails.

Which of the following headlines appeared in national and regional newspapers the week of January 21, 2007?
a.  Obama Announces Exploratory Committee in Powder Blue
b.  Sen. Brownback Cuts Hair Prior to Formal Declaration
c.  Stylists Interpret Messages of Senator Clinton’s Accoutrements
d.  Richardson’s Suit Choice Reveals True Colors

Did you guess C? Yep, thank you New York Sun and writer Christopher Faherty. Here’s the link if you want to read Mr. Faherty frivolous, vapid, stupid column:  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/v2/press/2007/January/20070131-NYSun.html. Not a single word about the content of Senator Clinton’s video announcement, or the issues she raised, such as restoring respect for America, ending the deficit, becoming energy independent and free of foreign oil.

When Katie Couric became the first female anchor of the nightly news and had an exclusive interview with President Bush the first week on the job, the media wrote about Ms. Couric’s appearance. Read Marie Wilson’s Op Ed in the Chicago Tribune.

The same thing happens when women take the top jobs in industry. Think Carly Fiorina. In Ms. Fiorina’s words, “After striving my entire career to be judged by my results and my decisions, the coverage of my gender, my appearance and perceptions of my personality would outweigh anything else.”

To quote from The White House Project, “Research shows that when it comes to female candidates, media tend to focus on the superficial – women’s hair, hemlines, and/or husband. Only by increasing the numbers of women in leadership will we prevent this kind of negative coverage. When we have numbers of women in power, more attention will be paid to their agenda, not their gender.”

If you’re as incensed by the media’s double standard as I am, then take action and get your voice out there. Be a careful reader and listener. Write a letter to a journalist who “speaks first of an outfit and second about agenda,” and tell him what you think about his pathetic reporting.