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Featured Publications
Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns
Navigating Gendered Terrain investigates not only how gender influences the campaign strategy and behavior of candidates today but also how candidates’ strategic and tactical decisions can influence the gendered nature of campaign institutions. Through a survey of political consultants and interviews with candidates and campaign practitioners, I analyze how professional perceptions of voters’ gender stereotypes matter prior to Election Day and how different expectations for female and male candidates inform decisions about candidate presentation and campaign strategy. Closing with a feminist interpretation of women as candidates, I argue that the unintended outcomes of political campaigns include their potential to reinforce or disrupt prevailing ideas about gender and candidacy.
Temple University Press, 2015
A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen's Perspectives on Why Their Presence Matters
Drawing on personal interviews with over three-quarters of the women serving in the 114th Congress (2015-17), my co-authors (Kira Sanbonmatsu and Susan J. Carroll) and I analyze how these women navigate today’s stark partisan divisions, and whether they feel effective in their jobs. Through first-person perspectives, A Seat at the Table looks at what motivates these women’s legislative priorities and behavior, details the ways in which women experience service within a male-dominated institution, and highlights why it matters that women sit in the nation’s federal legislative chambers.
Oxford University Press, 2018