Gender Watch 2018 Experts Available for Midterm Coverage

From March to December 2018, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) partnered to offer Gender Watch 2018, which tracked, analyzed, and illuminated gender dynamics in the 2018 midterm elections. With the help of expert scholars and practitioners, Gender Watch 2018 furthered public understanding of how gender influences candidate strategy, voter engagement and expectations, media coverage, and electoral outcomes in campaigns. The blog below was written for Gender Watch 2018, as part of our collective effort to raise questions, suggest answers, and complicate popular discussions about gender’s role U.S. elections.

The midterm election is less than a week away, and the team at Gender Watch 2018, a partnership between the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF), is available to add context to the final days of the campaign and as results roll in.

Gender Watch 2018 team experts and contributors are available for comment or to share research and analysis. To connect, contact Daniel De Simone at ddesimone@eagleton.rutgers.edu or Amanda Hunter at ahunter@barbaralee.com.

Kelly Dittmar: The project director of Gender Watch 2018, Dr. Dittmar is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University- Camden and a scholar at CAWP. Her research focuses how gender informs campaigns and the impact of gender diversity among elites in policy and political decisions, priorities, and processes.

Barbara Lee: Lee is the founder and president of BLFF and has worked to educate the public about gender disparities in government since 1998. Through the Foundation’s nonpartisan Governors research, Lee gives women candidates, elected officials, and other leaders at all levels essential knowledge to meet the challenges of campaigning.

Debbie Walsh: Walsh is the director of CAWP and leads its research and education initiatives in its mission to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women’s participation in politics and government and to enhance women’s influence and leadership in public life.

Amanda Hunter: As the communications director of BLFF, Hunter promotes the Foundation’s mission to advance women’s representation in American politics by overseeing the communications team for the Foundation, including its digital strategy and media relations.

In addition, Gender Watch 2018 has created a network of scholars and practitioners with a wide range of subject-area expertise to provide critical analysis of and context to gender dynamics in this record-breaking election year.

Nicole Carlsburg: As executive director of BLFF, she leads the Foundation’s nonpartisan efforts to advance women’s political equality. With experience on a broad range of national and local campaigns, Nicole brings years of strategic insight to the Foundation’s work.

Ruth Mandel: The founding director of CAWP, Mandel is the director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics and remains a senior scholar at CAWP, teaching and writing about leadership, with emphasis on U.S. women’s political history, women as political candidates and officeholders, women’s political networks, and the gender gap.

Susan J. Carroll: Dr. Carroll is a Professor of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at CAWP, with expertise and published work focusing on women candidates, voters, elected officials, and political appointees.

Kira Sanbonmatsu: A Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at CAWP, Dr. Sanbonmatsu’s research interests include gender, race/ethnicity, parties, public opinion, and state politics.

Sayu Bhojwani: As Founder and President of New American Leaders, Bhojwani’s work focuses on political engagement of immigrants and first- and second-generation Americans.

Christine E. Bejarano: As an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas, Dr. Bejarano’s research expertise includes Latina political candidates and how ethnic/racial minorities and women influence the electoral environment.

Erin Cassese: As an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Delaware, Dr. Cassese’s current work focuses on gender-based attacks in negative political campaigning and dehumanization in political rhetoric.

Rosalyn Cooperman: As an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Mary Washington, Dr. Cooperman’s research on the relationship between parties, PACs, fundraising, and women candidates has shed light on the dearth of support infrastructure available to Republican women candidates.

Melissa Deckman: Conducting polling research this cycle on voters’ attitudes about gender equality and sexual harassment, Dr. Deckman is also an expert on gender and conservative politics and a Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College.

Pearl Dowe: Currently researching political ambitions and campaign challenges for African-American women, Dr. Dowe is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Arkansas.

Christine K. Jahnke: A speech coach and media training expert who has worked with numerous women leaders in politics and non-profits, Jahnke is the founder and president of Positive Communications.

Christine Matthews: With current projects including a long term research panel with women swing voters, Matthews is the President of Bellwether Research and Consulting and a veteran survey research and political polling professional.

Anna Sampaio: As Director and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and Political Science at Santa Clara University, Dr. Sampaio conducts research on immigration, Latina/o politics, race and gender politics, and the history of Latina political engagement and activism in the U.S.

Wendy Smooth: Dr. Smooth is an Associate Professor and expert in intersectionality and politics at The Ohio State University, with particular emphasis on women of color as lawmakers and how public policy affects women of color.

Whitney Smith: After running for office in 2016, Smith turned her campaign experience into a consulting business, Will Work for Women, that focuses on electing women to public office.