Political Communication of Indonesian Female Regional Leaders

Abstract

The women's presence as regional leaders is one of the strategies for establishing more gender-just policies. Female regional leaders conducted diverse methods to win the votes of their constituents. The communication patterns used are diverse despite having similarities. The research aims to find out and analyze patterns and channels as well as the effects of political communication by female regional leaders in Indonesia. This study used a qualitative approach with three female regional leaders in three Javanese provinces. The research found that women tend to choose communication patterns and channels that used interpersonal communication channels to obtain political information. The female regional leaders used interactive communication patterns through social media, outdoor media, and mass media, such as television and print media. Communication channels used were personal communication channels, group communication channels, public communication channels, social communication channels, and traditional communication channels. The effect is that there is a change in the process of fighting for various public interests through verbal and nonverbal messages and mutual influence with various government policies. The research recommended that it is necessary to change the communication channel using social media massively to greet and discuss with constituents so that the effects are received massively as well.