Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up: Debate Edition. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

It’s Time to Start Asking Candidates Better Questions in the Presidential Debates

By Stephanie Eckardt, W Magazine

This Tuesday, twelve Democratic candidates took to the stage in Ohio for the fourth Democratic debate. While the record-breaking number of candidates certainly made this debate historic, we had hoped one other record would be broken: the number of times candidates were asked about women’s issues. But sadly, that was not the case.

You can read the full article here.

Democrats’ debate must include gender-equity solutions

By Valerie Jarrett, The Hill

Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of the United State of Women, also weighed in on this issue. She lamented that “We have yet to have a critical discussion about gender equity,” noting that topics such as the gender pay gap, wag discrimination, paid family leave, child care, reproductive rights, and sexual harassment have not been given their due in any of the 2020 debates. And she reminds us that, “These issues aren’t only women’s issues; they affect everyone.”

You can read the full article here.

4 Debates In, Democrats Finally Got The Chance To Talk Abortion Rights

By Alanna Vagianos, HuffPost

Abortion is an incredibly divisive topic at the moment as states around the country continue to pass stricter bans on the procedure. So, it’s about time the candidates were asked how they intend to approach women’s reproductive healthcare. Seven of the twelve candidates had the chance to grapple with this question, but kudos to Kamala Harris for bringing it up first: “This is the sixth debate we have had…and not nearly one word…on women’s access to reproductive healthcare.”

You can read the full article here.

11 Biggest Takeaways of the October Democratic Debate

By Philip Elliot, Time

With the Democratic primaries looming, and a field of candidates that shows no signs of getting smaller, the twelve candidates that qualified for the October debate did their best to make their case. Want to see how your favorite candidate fared? Miss any standout moments? Take a look at Time’s list of debate takeaways to get yourself caught up.

You can read the full article here.

Finally, There Are Enough Women On A Debate Stage That They Can Go After Each Other

By Emma Gray, HuffPost

There’s nothing new about watching candidates clash on stage. It’s a debate after all. However, what is special is having women debate each other. When Hillary Clinton was the only woman candidate, she became a proxy for all women, and the politics of women voters were seen as synonymous with hers. However, having multiple women candidates opens the door for women to disagree and advocate for their individual views. That is a win in itself.

You can read the full article here.

 

Five stories not enough? Sign-up for the Women & Politics Institute’s weekly newsletter, the WeLead Reader.