Collaborative Research: WORKSHOP: Improving Gender Equality in Legislative Studies; Washington, DC - May 2020

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Representation of women in the field of legislative studies is remarkably small: the proportion of women in the Legislative Studies Section (LSS) of the American Political Science Association (APSA) is only 22%, third from the bottom in a recent ranking of APSA sections. To solve the problem of the small numbers of women studying legislative politics, we have formed a team of scholars and developed a set of goals and implementation strategies. The first of these is the “Improving Gender Equality in Legislative Studies Hackathon and Collaboration Workshop.” The intellectual merit of this workshop focuses on highlighting the intellectual research contributions of female scholars whose work is often obscured by their small numbers and building future research networks and collaborations among scholars whose work is myriad but sometimes siloed in the field. Greater gender equality in legislative studies has broad impacts as it makes legislative politics a more attractive field of study for young scholars in the discipline, brings more diverse perspectives on legislatures to undergraduate curriculums, and produces more diverse research that is conveyed to the public through various mediums—books, articles, blog posts, editorials, news media interviews, etc. Representation of women in the field of legislative studies is remarkably small: the proportion of women in the Legislative Studies Section (LSS) of the American Political Science Association (APSA) is only 22%, third from the bottom in a recent ranking of APSA sections. To solve the problem of the small numbers of women studying legislative politics, we have formed a team of scholars and developed a set of goals and implementation strategies. The workshop will provide an opportunity for scholars of legislative politics to share current research on congress, state legislatures, and comparative legislatures, areas that are often siloed in the field rather than brought together collaboratively. It also aims to spotlight the work being done by women studying legislatures, as much of the new and different research being done in the field of legislative studies is being done by women but women’s small numbers in the field sometimes obscure their contributions. And it brings together female scholars of legislatures in all three research areas in order to encourage intellectual contributions that bridge across them. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.