Editors at the women’s magazine Cosmopolitan are adding a new politics section to their website among “Love,” “Celebs,” and “Style.” This addition is part of the publication’s move to encourage female action by actively participating in the voting and election process.
The new section will include articles on women’s issues and interviews with female political candidates. Cosmopolitan has recently hired a team to facilitate the development of the political content.
Editor-In-Chief Joanna Coles cites an increased number of engaged young women that are interested in political matters to spark the change at the magazine. Because of such a high demand for conversations on women’s political issues, many of the new features will be interactive. Social media will play a large roll in tapping women voters to gauge which issues are most important to them and develop criteria from which political candidates will be evaluated.
Cosmopolitan's move towards the political arena comes at a time when both Democrats and Republicans are seeking to gain support from single and married female voters. This population has become increasingly important to winning over the electorate and will remain vital in the run up to both the 2014 midterms and 2016 Presidential election.
The magazine’s advocacy for women’s issues will certainly shine through in their new political section. Coles stated in a recent interview,
“What we’re trying to say is, ‘Think about the issues that are important to you, and if you want to have a voice, then you need to use your voice'," Coles said in a recent interview. "'It’s all very well to sit back and complain, but you don’t have the right to complain if you don’t use your vote.’”