Underrepresentation of Women in Politics Topic of Next Faculty at Large Lecture

Angela Bos, assistant professor of political science at The College of Wooster, to speak Nov. 9

WOOSTER, Ohio — Angela Bos, assistant professor of political science at The College of Wooster, will present "Women's Political Underrepresentation: What Explains It?" at the third Faculty at Large lecture of the fall semester on Tuesday, Nov. 9. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.).

Bos will address the issue of women in elected office, motivate the importance of their representation in political decision-making bodies, highlight some prominent explanations for women’s underrepresentation, and discuss her research on gender stereotyping in the candidate-nomination process as one possible explanation. She will also present findings from a forthcoming publication in the journal Political Communication where she illustrates that not only do gender stereotypes affect nomination choice, but also that female candidates can do very little to strategically minimize the effects of these stereotypes through their campaign communication.

“Before a female candidate can run for office in a general election, she must pass through a metaphorical ‘gate’ in the political process to gain nomination,” said Bos. “I argue that gender stereotypes influence which candidates become nominated in political races and, thus, suggest that such nominations promote the underrepresentation of women in elected office.”

Bos is an assistant professor of political science at Wooster, where she joined the faculty in 2007. Her research interests include political psychology, gender and race in electoral politics, racial and gender stereotypes, media and politics, political socialization and civic education, and pedagogy in political science. She received her B.A. (2001) from the University of Minnesota Morris and her M.A. (2005) and Ph.D. (2007) from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is a member of the International Society of Political Psychology and the American Political Science Association. She received a National Science Foundation grant to support “New Research on Gender in Political Psychology,” a conference scheduled for March 4-5 at Rutgers University.

Additional information about the Faculty at Large lecture series is available by phone (330-263-2576) or e-mail.