Dianne Bystrom, director emerita of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State, will be speaking about the different ways that male and female presidential candidates are covered by the media and how that may affect the 2020 election cycle.

Her lecture, titled “But Is She ‘Likable?’ Gendered Media Coverage of Women Presidential Candidates” will be held at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union beginning.

“A frequent commentator about political and women’s issues for state, national and international media, [Bystrom’s] current research interests focused [sic] on (1) the styles and strategies used by female and male political candidates in their television advertising, websites and social media and (2) the coverage of women candidates and political leaders by the media,” according to the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics website.

Bystrom has edited or been a part of various publications on the topic, including “Gender and Elections” and “Anticipating Madam President.” 

“[Bystrom] was the first recipient of the Iowa Network for Women in Higher Education’s Distinguished Higher Education Leadership Award in April 2016. In August 2017, Bystrom was honored as one of seven Women of Influence by the Des Moines Business Record,” according to the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics website.

Bystrom’s lecture is cosponsored by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, College Democrats, League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County Board, Society for the Advancement of Gender Equity, Women’s and Gender Studies and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by Student Government.