April 16, 2024

In memory of the indomitable spirit of our founding co-director Ruth B. Mandel, CAWP has opened applications for the 2024 Ruth B. Mandel Dissertation Research Awards. We are grateful to Dr. Mandel's family for establishing the Legacy Fund, which allows us to support graduate students undertaking groundbreaking research in the field of women and American politics. These awards, valued at $2,000 each, help us foster the next generation of gender and politics researchers and advance knowledge that propels progress for women in U.S. politics.

• Eligibility: Advanced doctoral students with approved dissertation proposals on women, gender, and U.S. politics are invited to apply.
• Award Allocation: Up to four awards will be granted annually, with at least one reserved for a Rutgers University student. However, if no eligible candidate from Rutgers meets the criteria, the award will be open to non-Rutgers scholars.
• Submission Requirements: Applicants are required to submit a project abstract, proposal outlining research questions, methodology, and timeline, along with a CV and brief summary of research experience.
• Deadline: Applications must be submitted by May 15, 2024.
• Decision Announcement: Recipients will be notified of decisions in June 2024.
• Questions? For more information and to submit your application, please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

We’re curious about the power of the dollar in American politics. And how are women, comparably, donating to campaigns in current elections? To answer this question, we’ve created a new resource to track campaign finances in this year’s elections called Women, Money, & Politics Watch 2024. As part of this initiative, report authors Kira Sanbonmatsu and Shikshya Adhikari have issued the Donor Gaps: Demographics Analysis, which provides donor demographic information for contributions made in calendar year 2023 to major party congressional candidates running in the 2024 election, grouped by candidate gender and party. Our analysis covers 10 key states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington. These states, most of which are battlegrounds, represent different regions and partisan dynamics. We urge you to check out our interactive statistical charts, which will be updated throughout the year, and use them in your reporting, research, and outreach as we get closer to November.

United States Senator Laphonza Butler – the third Black woman to serve in the Senate and the only Black woman currently serving – will join CAWP next week as our 2024 Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Women’s Political Leadership. The Lipman lecture, The Power of Black Women's Leadership in Politics, will be given on Wednesday, April 24th at 7pm at the Kathleen W. Ludwig Global Village Living Learning Center on the Douglass/Rutgers-New Brunswick campus. 

The Lipman Chair was created to honor the legacy of the late state Senator Wynona Lipman, the first Black woman in the New Jersey State Senate. We are grateful to the New Jersey governor, the legislature, and the Lipman Chair advisory committee members for their commitment to honoring Senator Lipman's memory and advancing women's leadership. Learn more about the extraordinary Senator Lipman, this year’s lecture, and the history of venerable Lipman Chair holders at the Senator Wynona Lipman Chair page. 

Space is limited for this event.

The application deadline for the 2024 Susan N. Wilson NEW Leadership® New Jersey summer institute has been extended to Tuesday, April 30, 2024! Undergraduate students from any 2- or 4-year college or university in New Jersey are encouraged to apply for this unique public leadership training program addressing women's underrepresentation in politics. Our residential program will take place June 7-9, 2024 (three days) at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

There is no cost to any student participating in the program, and housing and all meals and materials are provided. During the non-partisan summer institute, students will meet women leaders, learn about women’s participation in American politics, and develop and practice leadership skills through panel discussions, workshops, and projects designed to teach skills in advocacy, politics, and public leadership. After the summer institute participants become part of New Leadership’s® national network of distinguished alumni. 



Learn more about NEW Leadership® NJ and apply here. CAWP is committed to including students from diverse socioeconomic, sexual orientations, sex and gender identities, and ethnic and racial backgrounds in each NEW Leadership® program. Questions? Please contact Thu Nguyen at [email protected].