The latest edition of Univision’s Sunday interview show, Al Punto, featured eight guests, none of them women.
On July 10, León Krauze -- who was standing in for regular host Jorge Ramos -- discussed an array of topics with his guests, including the Dallas shootings, assault weapons, the presidential race, police brutality, Hillary Clinton’s emails, the Mexican presidential race, a recent court decision that ordered the release of immigrant children from detention centers, and Latino voter engagement in the upcoming elections. Female voices were left out of every single conversation.
The show’s featured guests were:
Rep. Henry Cuéllar (D-TX)
Judge Alberto Milián
Democratic strategist José Parra
Republican analyst Adolfo Franco
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL)
Mexican presidential hopeful Miguel Ángel Mancera
Actor Edward James Olmos
With this episode, Univision perpetuates a trend in which female voices are critically underrepresented on the Sunday interview shows of the main Spanish-language networks. A Media Matters study analyzing all guest appearances from January 3 to April 24 on Spanish-language Sunday interview shows found that on Al Punto, male guests appeared more than three times as often as female guests, making up 76 percent of total guests compared to female guests’ 24 percent representation.
Latinas are also underrepresented on English-language shows of similar format, a disquieting fact considering the role of Sunday shows in setting the political agenda and addressing current events, and given that Latinas are more politically involved than their male peers, according to Voto Latino CEO Maria Teresa Kumar. Women make up 50.8 percent of the American population, so it is crucial that their perspectives are included when discussing issues that affect the nation.