Generalizability of extant findings about media treatment of women in politics is uncertain because most research examines candidates for the legislature or heads of government, and little work moves beyond Anglo-American countries. We examine six presidential cabinets in Costa Rica, Uruguay, and the United States, which provide differing levels of women’s incorporation into government. These cases permit us to test hypotheses arguing that differences in media treatment of men and women cabinet ministers will decrease as women’s inclusion in government expands, and that media treatment of women is more critical when women head departments associated with masculine gender stereotypes. Results show that greater incorporation of women into government is associated with fewer gendered differences in media coverage, tone of minister coverage is more favorable for women who hold masculine stereotyped portfolios, and that the media does present qualifications of women cabinet ministers.

In honouring John Child receiving the 2012 IACMR Lifetime Contribution Award, we present this Editors’ Forum to showcase his research into the influence of country context on organizations. The forum starts with an invited paper by Child and Marinova that analyzes the challenges faced by Chinese firms in their outward foreign investment. This is followed by four commentaries from Klaus Meyer, Peter Murmann, Kwok Leung, and Gordon Redding. The forum concludes with some reflections by Child and Marinova on the commentaries. Collectively, these six papers provide rich and inspiring insights into John Child’s approach to research and how we can learn from it. Five general observations are offered as suggestions for improving current research practice, including: (1) deepening contextual understanding; (2) theorizing across disciplines; (3) respecting the phenomenon; (4) recognizing cultural contingencies; and (5) rebalancing research criteria.