Women, Gender and Politics Research (Section 16)
The purpose of this section is to foster the study of women and politics within the discipline of political science.
Founded: 1986
Public Discussion List: APSA Connect discussion
Website: Women, Gender, and Politics Research
Social: @politicsgenderj.bsky.social
Section Membership Dues
| Student | Regular |
|---|---|
| $0 (Online journal only) | $30 (Online journal only) |
Section Officers
Section Officers
Section Awards
Section awards are presented during the APSA annual meeting awards ceremony. To learn more about any award listed, contact the award committee chair for the award.
All section 16. Women, Gender and Politics Research awards to-date »
Best Paper Award
The Best Paper Award is given for the best paper on women, gender, and politics at the previous year’s APSA conference. Any individual can nominate a paper for the award, including self-nominations. In addition, all papers presented in the Women and Politics Research Section and posted to the APSA conference paper website will be considered nominated. Award Amount: $500 Deadline for nominations: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Heather Ondercin (Chair) | Appalachian State University | ondercinhl@appstate.edu |
| Gwenyth McClendon | New York University | gwyneth.mcclendon@nyu.edu |
| Patrick Cunha Silva | Loyola University | pcunhasilva@luc.edu |
| Sydney Carr-Glenn | College of the Holy Cross | scarr@holycross.edu |
Best Dissertation Award
The Best Dissertation Award is given for the best dissertation on women and politics completed and successfully defended in the previous calendar year. Award amount: $500 Deadline for nominations: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Malliga Och (Chair) | Denison University | ochm@denison.edu |
| Bhumi Purohit | Georgetown University | bp569@georgetown.edu |
| Lisa Baldez | Dartmouth College | lisa.baldez@dartmouth.edu |
| Anna Wilke | New York University | amw703@nyu.edu |
| Natasha Altema-McNeely | University of North Texas | natasha.altema@unt.edu |
The Okin-Young Award in Feminist Political Theory
The Okin-Young Award in Feminist Political Theory is jointly given by the Section, Foundations of Political Theory, and the Women’s Caucus for Political Science. The award commemorates the scholarly, mentoring, and professional contributions of Susan Moller Okin and Iris Marion Young to the development of the field of feminist political theory. This annual award recognizes the best paper on feminist theory published in an English language academic journal during the previous calendar year. Papers are considered by self-nomination or nomination by other individuals. Nominations are due no later than April 1st and the Award decision is announced by June 1st. Award amount: $750. Deadline for nominations: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Andrea Aldrich | Yale University | andrea.aldrich@yale.edu |
Best Paper on Intersectionality
Best Paper on Intersectionality, to be co-sponsored with the Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section. This award is for the best paper addressing intersectionality presented at the previous year’s annual meeting. The scope of the award recognizes the roots of intersectional analysis in a critical analysis of the lived experiences of women of color, while also allowing for a more expansive reading of identity politics that takes into account multiple subjectivities and experiences, both within and outside the United States. Nomination Instructions: Self-nominations and nominations by others are welcome. To be considered for this award, a copy of the article should be sent electronically to each committee member by the deadline set by the Section. Award amount: $500 Deadline for nominations: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Vetter (Chair) | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | lvetter@umbc.edu |
| Christine M. Slaughter | Boston University | csla@bu.edu |
| Liza Mügge | University of Amsterdam | l.m.mugge@uva.nl |
Public Engagement Award
An annual award to recognize the exemplary public-facing work of political scientists in the field of Women, Gender, and Politics. This award seeks to recognize significant efforts to serve a local community/do outreach on women, gender and politics, or efforts to diffuse knowledge beyond the classroom, and to make a social/political difference. While all faculty are eligible for this award, we especially welcome nominations of permanent and non-permanent faculty with teaching loads of 3-3 and above. Nominations by oneself or others should be made to the committee appointed by the Women, Gender, and Politics section. Award amount: $500 Deadline for nominations: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Lahoma Thomas (Chair) | Toronto Metropolitan University | l.thomas@torontomu.ca |
| Noa Balf | Indiana University | nbalf@iu.edu |
| Kelly Dittmar | Rutgers University-Camden | kdittmar@eagleton.rutgers.edu |
Politics & Gender Best Article Award
An annual award to recognize the best article published in our section journal, Politics & Gender, during the previous year. Nominations will not be sought for this award; the award will be by a committee chosen by the editors of the journal. Award amount: $500
Award Committee
| Name |
|---|
| Editorial Board of Politics & Gender |
Microgrants
The Women, Gender, & Politics Research Section of the APSA is seeking applications for research grants of up to $1000 to assist with research expenses. Research expenses are broadly defined; examples of eligible expenses include (but are not limited to): child or elder care, data acquisition, software, research assistance, copyediting, translation, transcription, and travel. We are particularly looking for applications where our funding would make a significant and tangible impact on a crucial part of the research at any stage in the research process.
These grants are open to all Section members, but priority will be given to junior, non-tenure track, and/or unfunded scholars (i.e., scholars without or little institutional support) and projects which focus on women and/or gender as it relates to politics. Recipients can have the funds sent to their university, although the section does not pay indirect costs. Applications are now open. Deadline for the 2026 project proposals is April 1st. To apply, please email the committee chair, Melanie M. Hughes (hughesm@pitt.edu) with the following information:
- Cover letter explaining professional status (TT, adjunct, etc.), alternate sources of funding (department, grant, etc.), if any; and how the funding will be crucial to advancing the research project in tangible ways.
- 2 page project summary of the proposed research
- Bibliography (not to exceed one page)
- 1 page line item budget
- 2 page research-focused CV
Deadline: April 1, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Melanie M. Hughes (Chair) | University of Pittsburgh | hughesm@pitt.edu |
| Kaitlin Sidorsky | Ramapo College of New Jersey | Ksidorsk@ramapo.edu |
| Maricruz Ariana Osorio | Bentley University | mosorio@bentley.edu |
| Monica Schneider | Miami University | schneimc@miamioh.edu |
| Shannon Drysdale Walsh | University of Minnesota-Duluth | sdwalsh@d.umn.edu |