Women's and Gender Studies Research Guide

"A university-based research, education and public service center whose mission is to "promote greater understanding and knowledge about women's relationship to politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life. CAWP is a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey."

"As women’s representation in U.S. politics has grown, 53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the United States, and many see significant obstacles for women candidates. Our 2023 report on women leaders in politics explores Americans’ views about gender and political leadership, as well as views about the barriers women face." - Description from PEW Research Center

"The materials in this on-line archival collection document various aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States, and focus specifically on the radical origins of this movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Items range from radical theoretical writings to humorous plays to the minutes of an actual grassroots group."

IWPR's focus is on "issues of poverty and welfare, employment and earnings, work and family issues, health, civic and political participation."

Features inclusive lesson plans on numerous women including Stacey Abrams, Ida B. Wells, Shirley Chisholm, Wilma Mankiller, Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask, and more; plus articles, virtual exhibits, and "Brave Girls Virtual Storytime."

Contains general information about NOW and key women-focused gender issues.

Comparative data on gender equality in the US, Canada, and Mexico. From the Brookings Gender Equality Series.

"Founded in 2011, She Should Run is a nonpartisan nonprofit on a mission to revolutionize the landscape of women in American political leadership by shattering barriers and redefining possibilities for women in elected office. Our work seeks to protect our democracy by accelerating the rate at which we reach gender equality in U.S. elected leadership by increasing the number of women, representative of the projected 2060 population, in the political leadership pipeline. There are 24.4 million American women who have what it takes to lead in public office but who need more support to get there."

Part of the PEW Research Center's focus on women and political leadership.

Survey data on "public views of obstacles faced by women in politics and the impact of having a woman president. For the most part, Americans don’t think a woman president would do better or worse than a man when it comes to key leadership traits or the handling of various policy areas. At the same time, the public sees differences in the way men and women running for higher office are treated by the media. And many think women candidates are punished more than men for showing emotions and having young children at home, among other attributes."

Includes more than 400 digitized photos. "The National Woman's Party was a leading advocate for women's political, social, and economic equality through much of the 20th century. NWP was instrumental in the passage and ratification of the 19th amendment extending the right-to-vote for women. Photographs and essays about this important group in American women's history."

"All over the world, women in politics and journalism experience relentless volumes of online abuse, threats, and gendered disinformation campaigns on social media – and things are even worse for women facing intersectional discrimination and bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion and other factors. These campaigns are designed to discredit, devalue, and delegitimize women’s political standing, with the goal of ultimately undermining their ability to participate in civic life. Because of online abuse and disinformation, many women decide against running for office, self-censor, or refrain from speaking out, while illiberal actors become bolder in their use of social media as a tool to silence opposition, roll back women’s rights, and erode democratic institutions." "#ShePersisted works to end gendered disinformation and abuse against women in public life through research, support of women leaders, and advocating for safer digital platforms."

"Journalists and media outlets always operate in a given social, political and economic context that affects their interpretation of reality and the filters used to select what is ‘important’ and how it is presented to the public. In the Latin American case, that context still presents various challenges when it comes to placing gender equality at the centre of the public debate and the behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of the citizens and all the actors. This manual presents a methodological tool for monitoring media coverage during election campaigns. It focuses on a gender perspective using objective and verifiable information, and is based on experiences of six Latin American institutions." From UN Women and International IDEA.

For 20 years, this non-profit institute for equitable representation has produced important research and countless reports on "reinventing, transforming, and inspiring how global content creators authentically portray the world" in films, television, advertising, games development, and more, with equity and inclusion regarding gender, race, disability, body size, mental health, and more as primary goals. Numerous reports available by download.

Full citation: Santoniccolo F, Trombetta T, Paradiso MN, Rollè L. Gender and Media Representations: A Review of the Literature on Gender Stereotypes, Objectification and Sexualization. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 May 9;20(10):5770. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20105770. PMID: 37239498; PMCID: PMC10218532.

PDF Download: "This book, published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), presents the results of a study carried out in five Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, and the Dominican Republic) to identify the differences and/or inequalities in media coverage experienced by female candidates in the 30 days prior to an election. The study sought to measure media coverage of electoral candidacies and the issues that attract most of the attention during campaigns, and to understand the qualitative and quantitative differences in the treatment of male and female candidates. "Do female candidates have the same opportunities as male candidates to become known, communicate their proposals to voters during election campaigns and be treated as legitimate political players with a voice of their own? In essence, the study concludes that this is still not the case." From UN Women & International IDEA.

"Women in politics, particularly women of color, experience overwhelming levels of abuse and gendered disinformation campaigns, which traditional and social media often fuel and perpetuate. With the purpose of discrediting, delegitimizing, and silencing women in politics, studies have shown that women are often discouraged and dissuaded from getting involved in politics because of gendered media reporting." International IDEA and its partners seek "raise awareness and collect experiences and knowledge on gender differences in political media coverage, its impact on women’s political participation and representation, as well as gather good practices and recommendations on ways to counter the negative impact of media portrayals of women in politics with fair and unbiased coverage."