Women historically not assigned to moderate first presidential debate slot

Women have historically not been awarded the first debate moderator slot, even though more women have been selected to moderate debates in recent history.

The state of play: The one exception is Barbara Walters of ABC News, who moderated the first presidential debate in 1984 between Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic former Vice President Walter Mondale.

• In the past five cycles, women have been awarded the Vice Presidential debate moderator slot, but only three women — Martha Raddatz of ABC News, Candy Crowley of CNN, and Kristen Welker of NBC News— have been awarded a presidential debate moderator position.
• An all-female panel moderated the November 20th Democratic primary debate — only the third time that's happened in U.S. history, per Vox.