Students and staff members from the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics showcased their recent research at the 2014 Iowa Association of Political Scientists annual meeting on March 1 in Pella, Iowa.
Catt Center presenters at the conference – hosted by Central College – included Dianne Bystrom, director; Hallie Golay, graduate research assistant; Valerie Hennings, scholar-in-residence; Krista Johnson, Alice Rodine intern in community activism and Sharon Rodine leadership and advocacy intern; and Morgan Todd, Rice-Neville Legacy of Heroines scholar and Gender Balance Project intern. They took part in the panel, “Women’s Political Representation, Recruitment and Rhetorical Style,” which featured four presentations and highlighted the various types of research currently being conducted at the Catt Center.
In their presentation on “The Political Status of Women in Iowa: A 2014 Report,” Golay and Johnson discussed the current numbers of women elected officials in Iowa, primarily focusing on those serving on school boards and in municipal offices. “I’ve been working on my research all year, so it was really rewarding to be able to share my findings,” Johnson said.
Todd presented “Balancing the Board: An Analysis of the Implementation and Implications of Iowa’s Gender Balance Legislation for Appointed Boards and Commissions.” In her presentation, she discussed research findings regarding the implementation of Iowa’s gender balance law on county and municipal boards and commissions.
Hennings presented her study on “Learning to Lead: Women’s Political Participation and Candidate Training Programs.” Her research focuses on women who have participated in candidate training programs, such as the Catt Center’s Ready to Run™ Iowa, and how they decide to run for political office.
Bystrom presented research conducted by Kate Tindall, an undergraduate student intern working on the Archives of Women’s Political Communication who was unable to attend the conference. Tindall’s research on “Women of the United States and United Nations: Rhetorical Comparisons of Political Communications of International Politics” is based on her work with the archives this year.
“This was a great opportunity for us to not only share the various types of work we are conducting at the Catt Center, but also to emphasize how our data is available publicly to others with an interest in gender and politics research,” Hennings said. Research presented by students at the conference was based on resources available on the Catt Center’s website under the “research” link as well as included in its Archives of Women’s Political Communication.