Romney's #BindersFullofWomen

Oct 17

Web Only

Romney's #BindersFullofWomen

The presidential candidate's defence of his record on gender equality backfires online.

During the second US presidential debate, one town hall participant asked candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama how they would rectify inequalities in the workplace. In his response, Romney highlighted the number of women he hired for his cabinet as Governor of Massachusetts.

In an effort to recruit qualified women, Romney added, "I went to a number of women’s groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks,' and they brought us whole binders full of women".

View the story "Romney's #BindersFullofWomen" on StorifyRomney's #BindersFullofWomenThe presidential candidate's defence of his record on gender equality backfires online.Storified by The Stream · Tue, Oct 16 2012 21:07:44Here's the video of the comment:Romney Talks About Binders Full Of WomenpoliticsbuzzThe phrase "binders full of women" instantly sparked a flood of reactions online, including GIFs and parody accounts:photogifwichHey @CrowleyCNN you are welcome to join my binder after the debate.Romney's BinderOne Tumblr blogger even created an entire site dedicated to memes of the binder comment:undefinedTumblrundefinedTumblrA Facebook page also garnered over 100,000 likes soon after the debate.Binders Full of WomenAJstreamBinders Full Of Women | FacebookBinders Full Of Women. 23,150 likes · 0 talking about this.On Twitter, the hashtag #bindersfullofwomen rose to the list of top trending terms in the United States.#bindersfullofwomenAJstreamWhy is the Republican male answer to pay equality questions always, "Look at all these women who work for me!" #bindersfullofwomenLiz BrownToo many women on Twitter. Get back in your binders! #debatesAmanda TerkelDebate over. Back to my binderKaren AttiahAnd in the brief lifespan from gaffe to now, I'm already overexposed to #BindersFullOfWomen memes. This is why we can't have nice things.Matt Morain"I stand up for women's rights by reducing them to a resume and a headshot in my binder." - #debatesMike DruckerGoogle even reported that searches for the term "binders" increased by 425 per cent during the first hour of the debate.