Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is a doctor of education. Ben Carson, a Republican presidential candidate, is a medical doctor.
But in the New York Times, Biden is 3 times more likely to be called doctor than Carson.
"Through last night, Nexis results show Ben Carson’s name has appeared in The New York Times373 times: 356 times as Ben Carson and 17 times as Benjamin Carson. On first reference (that is, the first time he is named in the story) he has been referred to as 'Dr. Ben Carson' or 'Dr. Benjamin Carson' 32 times, plus an additional 13 times on second reference. He’s been called “Mr. Carson” on second reference 57 times," according to analysis by the R Street Institute think tank.
"By contrast, Jill Biden’s name has appeared 61 times. Seven of those times, she was referred to as 'Dr. Jill Biden' on first reference and another seven times on second reference. Only twice has she been called 'Mrs. Biden' on second reference. ( The Times has never referred to her as 'Ms. Biden,' so it isn’t simply a matter of preferring a less patriarchal terminology.)
"Comparing those head-to-head, Ben Carson has been called 'Dr.' in 12.1 percent of the Timesstories in which his name appears. Jill Biden has been called 'Dr.' in 23.0 percent of the stories in which her name appears. Ben Carson has been called 'Mr. Carson' in 15.3 percent of the stories in which his name appears. Jill Biden is called 'Mrs. Biden' in just 3.3 percent of the stories in which her name appears. ...
"Thus, head-to-head, we see that Times blogs refer to Jill Biden as 'Dr.' nearly half the time (48.3 percent) while referring to Ben Carson as “Dr.” just 8.9 percent of the time. She is called 'Mrs. Biden' just 6.9 percent of the time, while he is called 'Mr. Carson' 34.7 percent of the time."