Five research projects received funding through the 2023 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics. The selection committee blind-reviewed the proposals and chose three projects as winners of the Catt Prize and two honorable mentions. Each of the prize-winning projects will receive $2,500. Projects that received honorable mention will receive $1,200 each.
“Once again, the Catt Center is thrilled to support such exciting research on women and politics,” said Karen M. Kedrowski, director of Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, which sponsors the annual awards.
Prize winners for 2023 are:
Juliana Sanin, assistant professor of political science at the University of Florida; Marcelline Amouzou, doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Florida; and Ayu Diasti Rahmawati, Fulbright-sponsored doctoral student in political science at the University of Florida and lecturer in social and political sciences at the Universitas Gadah Mada, for “Women of Autocracy in the Global South.” The study examines the role women play in promoting or sustaining autocratic regimes through their support of male autocratic leaders. The award will be used to support costs to travel to Indonesia and collect archival data, as well as costs to travel to a conference to present a draft paper of the study.
Marzia Oceno, assistant professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University; Tessa Ditonto, associate professor of gender and politics at Durham University; and Kyle Mattes, associate professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, for “The Importance of Gender and Intersectional Stereotypes in Diverse Electoral Races.” The study will examine how candidate gender and its intersection with race, ethnicity, and other group identities impact how the American public views and decides to cast their ballot among heterogeneous sets of female candidates. The award will be used to fund a survey experiment using CloudResearch.
Recipients of honorable mention awards are:
Shatakshi Singh, doctoral candidate in political science at the University of California Santa Cruz, for “Resisting Displacement: Legal Mobilization and Claim-Making in Urban India.” The study examines the dynamics of legal claim-making and mobilization as employed by poor communities across constellations of gender, religion, and caste to resist their intensifying displacement in urban spaces in India. The award will be used to fund travel from the United States to India to conduct fieldwork.
The annual research prize has been funded since 1994 by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics through private donations. Since 1994, the Catt Center has awarded $166,000 to 144 projects.
Iowa State faculty members serving on the 2023 Catt Prize Selection Committee were Susan Laehn, David Peterson, Kelly Shaw, Mack Shelley, and Alex Tuckness, all with the Department of Political Science; Amy Bix, Department of History; Carrie Ann Johnson, Carrie Chapman Catt Center and the ADVANCE Midwest Partnership; Maggie LaWare, Department of English; Kelly Winfrey, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and Women’s and Gender Studies Program; and Kedrowski, as well as doctoral candidate Will Walker, Department of Community and Regional Planning. Also serving on the committee were Jennifer Dreibelbis, grants and database administrator for the Nebraska Arts Council; Melissa Haussman, professor of political science at Carleton University; Donna Hoffman, professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa; Candice Ortbals, professor of political science at Abilene Christian University; Annelise Russell, assistant professor of public policy at the University of Kentucky; and J. Cherie Strachan, professor of political science and director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. The committee was assisted by Ashley Marsh, administrative assistant for the Catt Center.