PUBLISHED BOOKS
2023
Woman and Politics takes on the historical challenges women have and continue to face, and the victories they have achieved, in political cultures and structures around the world. The introduction walks readers through the key issues, pressing concerns, and foremost questions that researchers confront in their studies of women in various political roles across the globe. The remainder of the book, divided into eight chapters, covers such topics as women's suffrage, the status of women in politics today, women as national leaders, barriers to women's political representation, and others. Leading experts and emerging scholars come together in this volume to ask and provide answers to the question of why gender parity is so important in politics. They answer that only women, who as a group have a distinct identity and lived experiences that differ from men's collective identities and interests, can accurately represent themselves both at home and on the world stage.
2023
This book addresses the central question of how right-wing women navigate the cross-pressures between gender identity and political ideology.
The hope has always been that more women in politics would lead to greater inclusion of women’s voices and interests in decision-making and policy. Yet this is not always the case; some prominent conservative women such as Margaret Thatcher have rejected the feminist label while others such as Angela Merkel have reluctantly accepted it. Republican women in the U.S. Congress have embraced social and economic policies contrary to what many consider to be women’s issues while EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is a staunch supporter of feminist ideas. Other conservative women, such as Marine LePen in France strategically use feminist ideas to justify their conservative stances on immigration. This brings up an interesting yet understudied question: under what circumstances do conservative women become feminist allies and when do they toe the party line? It is this tension between women’s political representation and conservatism that this edited volume explores.
2018
Why is the Republican Party dominated by men to a far greater extent than its primary rival? With literature on conservative women in the United States still in its infancy, this book fills an important gap. It does so by examining Republican women as distinct from their male Republican and Democratic female counterparts and also by exploring the shifting role of Republican women in their party and in politics overall. The book brings those subjects together in one volume that will provide fascinating reading to students, scholars, and anyone else interested in U.S. politics.
The analysis is presented in four parts, beginning with a look at the role of women as voters and activists in the GOP. The second section explores the process of candidate emergence, tackling the question as to why so few women run as Republicans and why those who do are less successful than their Democratic female and Republican male counterparts. In the third part, the contributors shed light on Republican women in Congress and state legislatures and their behavior as lawmakers. The final section assesses the outcome of the 2016 election for Republican women in general and, specifically, for Carly Fiorina, the only female candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Each section of the book concludes with a short "guide to action" that takes the insights set forth and applies them to suggest ways to promote a greater involvement of women in the Republican Party.
PUBLISHED REPORTS
Piscopo J. and M. Och (2021). “Feminist Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic: Women Leading in Adverse Circumstances” in Gender and Development 29 (2-3): 547-568
This article analyses how women governors, mayors, and local elected officials promoted public health and social protection in countries where men chief executives failed to take steps to contain the virus. We focus on adverse circumstances in six cases: Brazil, the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, and India. While individual women may not see their leadership in feminist terms, their pandemic response contrasted with men chief executives’ hypermasculine bravado and slapdash decision-making. Women leaders relied on science, co-ordinated community outreach, and attended to the needs of marginalised groups. Their stories reveal women’s resiliency, resourcefulness, and resolve at the local level.
UN Women. 2021. Effective, decisive, and inclusive: Women’s leadership in COVID-19 response and recovery (with JM Piscopo).
This working paper is part of UN Women’s research efforts to highlight the importance of women’s leadership and participation in decision-making during the pandemic and beyond. The working paper tackles the question of how women leaders at the national and subnational levels of government managed COVID-19 response and recovery during the pandemic’s first 15 months, from January 2020 through March 2021.
The paper finds that women leaders placed premiums on effective leadership, rapid response, and socially inclusive policies as they understood that the effects of the pandemic would reach far beyond public health, affecting every aspect of society and disproportionately harming women and girls.
The publication also maps out lessons learned and recommendations on how to ensure women participate in and influence decision-making during the pandemic response and recovery.
The United States is one of seven countries and the only advanced industrialized country in the world that has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Being frustrated with the slow (or non-existent) pace of Senate ratification since 1981, the Cities for CEDAW campaign decided that American women can no longer wait for the U.S. Senate to act. Cities for CEDAW is a national campaign which encourages American municipalities to adopt a CEDAW ordinance to enshrine the international gender norms of substantive gender equity and nondiscrimination into municipal codes. The report focuses on two key questions: (1) how have other cities implemented a CEDAW ordinances; and (2) what kind of implementation is feasible for the City and County of Denver.
Och, M. 2018. Campaign Donors. A Report for the Reflective Democracy Campaign.
Summarizes challenges and opportunities for women and minority candidates to raise campaign funds.
SSN Basic Fact.
Political Parity. 2015. Where Women Win.
Oversaw production as Research Director of Political Parity.
Political Parity. 2015. Clearing the Primary Hurdles. Republican Women and the GOP Gender Gap.
Contributor
Oversaw Production as Research Director of Political Parity.
Political Parity. 2016. PATH TO PARITY. How Women Run and Win. A Reader.
Contributor
Political Parity. 2015. Research Inventory.
Oversaw Production as Research Director of Political Parity.