Jennifer Lawless
Assistant Professor of Political Science:
Political Science
Phone: +1 401 863 1575
Jennifer_Lawless@brown.edu
Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy. Specializes in women and politics, public opinion, and statistics. Current research focuses on political ambition and the manner in which gender affects the decision to run for office. Author of articles that have appeared or are forthcoming in American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Women and Politics. Co-author (with Richard L. Fox) of It Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Biography
Jennifer Lawless graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, with a B.A. in political science. She went on to receive an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. A nationally recognized expert on women's involvement in politics, she is co-author (with Richard L. Fox) of the book, It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office. She has also published articles in various political science journals and has issued a policy report on the barriers that oftentimes preclude Americans from running for office.
Interests
The majority of my research centers on gender as a critical vehicle to examine the legitimacy and inclusiveness of U.S. campaigns, elections, and political institutions. My first project – The Citizen Political Ambition Study – draws on original survey research and extensive interviews to develop a gendered theory of political ambition. By identifying and explaining the gender gap in political ambition, I reconcile a political system that elects few women with an "unbiased" electoral environment. The second project is a collection of six journal articles that address a series of vital, but unexplored questions in the women and politics literature. Based on five unique datasets, the articles' findings culminate to suggest that gender remains relevant in electoral politics, despite the gender neutral victory rates that have come to characterize elections for all levels of office. The third project, which is well underway, builds on the Citizen Political Ambition Study and serves as the first-ever panel of political ambition. Although I will use the panel data to continue to explore gender's role in the candidate emergence process, the main thrust of this project (for which I recently received a book contract from Cambridge University Press) is a broader assessment of the initial decision to run for office and how interest in a candidacy evolves over time.
Degrees
Ph.D and M.A. in Political Science
Awards
Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, 2008
Barbara Lee Foundation, Grant for the Citizen Political Ambition Study, Wave 1I ( $7,600), 2007
Humanities Research Award, Brown University, 2007
Humanities Research Award, Brown University, 2006
Sophonisba Breckinridge Award, for best paper on women and politics, presented by the Midwest Political Science Association, April 2006
Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, 2005
Humanities Research Award, Brown University, 2005
Humanities Research Award, Brown University, 2004
Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, 2004
Marian D. Irish Award, for best paper on women and politics, presented by the Southern Political Science Association, January 2004
Sophonisba Breckinridge Award, for best paper on women and politics, presented by the Midwest Political Science Association, April 2004
Pi Sigma Alpha, Spring 1997
Phi Beta Kappa, Spring 1996
Affiliations
Reviewer for the National Science Foundation, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Politics and Gender, Political Behavior, Political Research Quarterly, Urban Studies, and American Politics Research.
Member of the American Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, Western Political Science Association, and Southern Political Science Association.
Board Member of Emerge America, 2008 - present.
Board Member of the 2:1 Coalition to Preserve Choice, 2008 – present.
Board Member of the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, 2006 – present.
Chair, Planned Parenthood Community Affairs Committee, 2007 – 2008.
Board Member of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, 2006 – 2008.
Teaching
Political Research Methods
Women and Politics
Public Opinion
Campaigns and Elections
Media and Politics
Political Journalism
Funded Research
October 2008
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"The Citizen Political Ambition Study, Wave II"
$2,000
Summer 2008
UTRA recipient, Brown University
October 2007
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"Studying the Evolution of Political Ambition"
$2,000
October 2007
Barbara Lee Foundation
"The Citizen Political Ambition Study, Wave II"
$7,600
October 2006
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"Women and Representation"
$2,000
Summer 2006
Team UTRA recipient, Brown University
October 2005
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"The Primary Reason for Women's Under-Representation: Gender Dynamics and Congressional Primaries"
$2,000
Summer 2005
Team UTRA recipient, Brown University
January 2005
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"Who Runs for Office? A Study of Political Ambition"
$2,000
April 2004
Humanities Research Award, Brown University
"Gender and Political Ambition: Why Don't Women Run for Office?"
$2,000
Summer 2004
Team UTRA recipient, Brown University
December 2001
Stanford University Graduate Research Opportunity Grant
"Women and Electoral Politics: Who Runs and Does it Matter?"
$5,000
July 2001
Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society Research Grant "Gender and the Decision to Run for Office: A Quantitative Study"
$5,000