Laurel Elder, a professor of political science at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, has received the 2022 Victoria Schuck Award from the American Political Science Association. The award honors the author of the year’s best book published on women and politics.
Professor Elder was recognized for her book The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected But Republican Women Don’t (New York University Press, 2021). The citation for the award states that the book “addresses an important puzzle: the development of a dramatic partisan gap in the legislative representation of women between the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, at the national and sub-national level. Her focus on the enormity of the range of state legislature’s inclusion of women and the reasons behind this outcome reveal some critical answers that looking at Congress alone would not. The book is exemplary for how it presents the research question, carries out the analysis, explains findings in a thoughtful and accessible way, and speaks to more than one subfield in political science.”
Dr. Elder teaches courses on American politics. Her research explores the intersection of gender, race, and parenthood in shaping political attitudes as well as the reasons for women’s continued underrepresentation in elective office.
Professor Elder is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. She earned a Ph.D. at Ohio State University.