Gender differences in answering questions in a News Interview : a study of male and female answers in The Andrew Marr Show

Abstract: This study aims to examine possible differences in the way male and female politicians answer questions in a news interview, with focus on hedging expressions, answer resistance strategies and negative mentions of other politicians and political parties.The study is based on analysis of 13 interviews with British politicians made for the BBC One programme The Andrew Marr show in 2013 and 2014. The data used for analysis is transcripts and recordings of the interviews, and the study uses conversation analytical tools to in detail examine the answers in relation to conversational phenomena and techniques.The results show several significant differences in the way men and women answer questions. Women use more hedging expressions, minimal response and overt resistance than men, whereas men covertly resist questions to a greater extent than women. Men also seem more likely to mention colleagues or other political parties in a negative manner in a way to pass blame. These results are discussed in relation to social structures in society as well as former studies on the matter.