The WomanStats Project | WPS Capstone Research Projects
RESEARCH: The WomanStats Project
The WomanStats Project is the research arm of the WPS Program, and a very active arm it is. From 2014-2018, the database component of the Project was funded through the Minerva Initiative of the US Department of Defense. In that particular project, which culminated in the book The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide (Columbia University Press, 2020), the linkages among marriage patterns, marriage market obstruction, and national security were comprehensively investigated. This specific project is part of the larger research agenda of The WomanStats Project investigating the relationship between the security, situation, and status of women and the security of the states in which they live. The WomanStats Database is a key go-to source for information, with data on over 350 variables for 176 countries (all those with a population of at least 300,000). Reference Reviews says about the database, “If I could only introduce gender and women’s studies students to one international source, this would be it.” Researchers on the Project include outstanding scholars from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, and Colombia who are publishing in the top academic journals and presses in their fields. At any one time, 4-6 Bush School students work on the project as coders, and we also have some great Bush School student volunteers who help out with the project. Want to get involved? Contact Professor Hudson.
CAPSTONES for the WPS Concentration
Every year the WPS Program sponsors a capstone research project for Bush School students. Since 2018, our client has been the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. The various capstone research papers are available below.
Technological Threats: How Online Harassment of Female Political Figures Undermines Democracy
- Team Members: Madeleine Songy, Madeleine Pelton, Olivia Cretella, Areala Mendoza, Kathryn Hopp, Olivia Jackson, and Ailyah Banks
- Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department
Fall 2020: Increasing Women’s Participation in Uniformed Law Enforcement
- Team Members: Anita Mitic, Ashley Justynski, HyuonJung Noh, Nereyda Ortiz, Mary Bowman, Sydney Harkrider, Taryn Williames, Vesa Bashota
- Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department
Spring 2020: Understanding Successful Legal Reform for Women’s Economic Empowerment
- Team Members: Anna Akhmetova, Lauren Chilton, McKinzie Davis, Shelby Eckhardt, Katherine Krehmeier, Tessa Pennington, Eric Washington
- Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department
Is Investing in Women’s Economic Empowerment an Investment in National Security and Stability?
- Team Members: Gabriela Hernandez, Emily Jensen, Kelli Meyer, Hope Valle, Lindsey Wilkerson, and Rachel Xiao
- Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department
Gender, Terrorism, and Foreign Fighters
- Team Members: Kayla McGill, Ashley Lovell, Sarah Ascol, Wiam Ayachi, Emily Pagrabs, and Ryan Yandell
- Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department
