In the TV series The Diplomat, an American woman due to be the next ambassador in Afghanistan is suddenly moved to the same position but in the United Kingdom. In fact, she has been given the promotion to prove she has what it takes to be vice-president of the United States. During a dialogue between two of her advisors, they reflect on a woman’s exposure when she goes into politics: “Is she pretty, but not too pretty? Appealing, but not hot? Confident, but not bitchy? Decisive, but not bitchy?”. The other adds: “Cute bitchy, but not bitchy bitchy.”

Recently, a group of researchers compiled many studies on how media representations impact the way female candidates are perceived compared to their male counterparts. And they have come to groundbreaking conclusions. Voters, they suggest, are not inherently biased when it comes to a candidate’s gender. It is actually media coverage of politicians that proves powerful.

There has also been a significant breakthrough in female health. An investigation recently published in Nature has found a possible cause for the nauseas and vomiting many pregnant women suffer from. This discovery is crucial to develop treatments that avoid this situation.

And, if you’ve ever asked yourself if you should watch films in original version with subtitles in your mother-tongue to improve your language skills, here is the answer.

All the best,