New study of Dan­ish news­pa­pers: Wo­men write more about eco­nom­ics, men more about respons­ibility when con­sumer sustain­ability is covered

It is Tuesday afternoon at the supermarket. A mother studies the price tag on organic eggs, while a young man further down by the refrigerated counter considers meat-free days and climate responsibility. Both want to shop sustainably. The question is whether the choice is primarily about willingness or about financial constraints.

Something similar applies when Danish media write about sustainable food choices. 

This is shown by a new study from Copenhagen Business School, which maps how the journalist’s gender matters for the way consumer sustainability is explained. According to the study, male and female journalists systematically frame sustainable consumption in different ways.

“Female journalists more often highlight financial conditions such as price and everyday budgets, while male journalists to a greater extent link sustainable consumption to responsibility, motivation and willingness,” explains Torben Hansen.

He is professor at the Department of Marketing at Copenhagen Business School and author of the study ‘Is there a Gender Bias in Media Representations of Consumer Food Sustainability?, published in European Journal of Communication and Media Studies.

In short, the study shows that the same story about sustainable food choices can end up with two different explanations. In one version, the consumer is confronted with the question of responsibility:  Should you choose more sustainably if you really want to? In the other version, the focus is on finances: Can you afford to choose organic and climate-friendly options in an everyday life?

Which explanation dominates is not random. According to the study, female journalists are more likely to focus on financial conditions such as price and everyday budgets, while male journalists more often highlight responsibility, motivation and willingness as drivers of sustainable consumption.

“I can see some clear patterns in how sustainability is explained to readers, and they are systematically linked to the journalist’s gender,” says Torben Hansen.

Different explanations of the same challenge

The study is based on an analysis of 287 articles from Danish daily newspapers. The articles have been reviewed using an analytical method developed by Torben Hansen himself, which makes it possible to systematically compare which explanations and solutions the media associate with sustainable consumption. 

Each article is coded based on a number of simple questions: Is the text about price and financial constraints – or about responsibility, ethics and motivation? Does it point to individual choices or to the structures within which consumers act?

“The method makes it possible to identify patterns across many articles and thereby make journalistic framing measurable,” explains Torben Hansen.

Gender plays a role

The analysis shows, among other things, that articles written by female journalists more often link sustainable shopping to financial conditions, while male journalists to a greater extent present sustainability as a matter of personal responsibility.

According to the researcher, neither angle is wrong, but they have different consequences for how the problem is understood.

“When sustainability is primarily made a question of responsibility and willingness, the solution is placed with the individual consumer. When finances play a larger role, the narrative points more clearly to the conditions consumers actually operate within,” says Torben Hansen.

A key finding of the study is also that gender differences are especially evident in articles that focus on the consumer and their choices. When the articles instead deal with sustainability more broadly – for example climate challenges, production or food systems – male and female journalists cover the topic in largely the same way.

“This confirms my thesis that we bring ourselves to work. When journalists write about consumers, the personal dimension becomes more visible – and here gender plays a role,” says Torben Hansen.

According to him, this indicates that journalists’ own experiences and perspectives come more strongly into play when sustainability is made concrete and close to everyday life.

An editorial responsibility

According to Torben Hansen, the results should prompt reflection in editorial offices.

“You need to ensure diversity in the newsroom so that both perspectives are included. Otherwise, there is a risk that coverage of sustainability becomes one-sided,” he says, stressing that if newspapers primarily focus on either morality or economics, it can produce a narrow picture of a complex issue. 

“This can influence consumers’ perceptions of their own options – and ultimately their engagement in the green transition. One-sided coverage can harm consumers’ view of sustainability. And in the end, also the climate,” says Torben Hansen.