Divides in feminism at the W20 Summit

This year's W20 Summit in Berlin was comprised of some of the most powerful and accomplished women of the world. The organization was created with the intent to economically empower women around the world. This year's Summit was hit with backlash, though. With panelists like Angela Merkel embodying feminist ideals, having Ivanka Trump featured threw many off of their game. In this post I compare NPR's coverage of the event with that of the Mercury News to see the different perspectives of Trump's appearance and views on feminism.

Panelists featured in NPR article
John MacDougall/Getty Images

NPR's report by Bill Chappell covered the presence of Trump at the event in a very distant and broad way. It covers most of the Summit and Trump's participation in it, but does so without opinion or edge. There are almost no photos, but the author adds tweets to break up the text. Most of them feature criticism of Trump's comments, but that is about the only zest in the report. Chappell goes on to quote Trump in her efforts to convey unity and feminism, though there are no comments on the resistance she received for this. What is reported on her feminist stance is more general, and was usually linked back to her father.

Protests featured in Mercury News
Michele Tantussi/Getty Images

The Mercury News report by Martha Ross is much more aggressive when it comes to covering Trump's commentary at the Summit. The whole theme of the article is questioning the need and purpose of Trump being at the event at all. The author aggressively remarks at the lack of governmental training she has possessed, unlike her fellow panelists, as well as her exaggerated appeals of being a feminist. The article was broken up with photos of the panelists and tweets about Trump's presence. The article makes opinionated stances throughout, even saying that Trump was invited out of pure necessity and strategy from the German government. This piece is the complete opposite to the NPR story, featuring opinion, protests, and a clash of the ideas of feminism.


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