In December, St Hilda’s hosted a workshop led by the Gender and Elections Network (GenElect) which brought together academics, students, and representatives from the polling industry to discuss studying gender after a jam-packed year of elections across the globe. GenElect was formed by Ceri Fowler (Career Development Fellow in Comparative Politics, St Hilda’s College), Rosalind Shorrocks (Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester) and Jess Smith (Lecturer in Politics, University of Southampton) in 2024. It aims to bring together those who study Gender and Elections to discuss their research, engage with industry and the wider public, and to support women researching elections.
Panels during the workshop covered themes such as “Methods and New Data”, “Gendered Attitudes and Gender Gaps”, and “Women as Candidates and Politicians”. Workshop participants also discussed future collaborations, including a potential edited volume, and enjoyed an excellent dinner! The organisers hope that the Workshop will become an annual event and would like to thank all the participants for their excellent contributions.
The event organisers would also like to thank St Hilda’s College and the Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties subgroup of the Political Studies Association for their sponsorship of the event.