IGNITING POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN TIMES OF THREATENINGRHETORIC: VOICES FROM WOMEN OF IMMIGRANT ORIGIN
- Presenter: Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna, Joint PhD Candidate in Migration Studies and Political Science at Universidad de Granada & Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
- Discussant: Alison E. Woodward, Research Professor Emerita at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and co-founder of RHEA, the VUB Research Centre on Gender, Diversity, Intersectionality.
This research focuses on women who migrated to the United States or are children of immigrants to the U.S. and the role of intersectional identities on their motivations to run for office, an area that is often missing in political representation research.
Taking a closer look at women of immigrant origin living in the Northwest state of Oregon, this EDGE Seminar will analyze the following research questions: 1) What are the identities of women of immigrant origin serving in local elected political positions in Oregon? 2) What motivated these women to run for an elected political office, and 3) How do their identities motivate them to run?
Through in-person qualitative interviews, findings reveal how the intersectional identities of immigrant history, race and gender drive motivations to run for political office, especially during times when political rhetoric targets their identity groups. In political environments where racial discrimination, xenophobic rhetoric and threats to women’s rights are pervasive, women of immigrant origin in Oregon believe that the cost of not running for office outweighs their obstacles to attaining office.
This EDGE Seminar will examine the findings to better understand the influence of intersectionality on political motivation.
* This event will take place online. Participation is free of charge, but please register using the form below.
* We experience some technical problems with the registration form. In case these persist, please send us your registration details at edge@vub.be at the latest on Monday 13 July.