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Sustained research by Professor Galligan on reforming political processes to address women's political underrepresentation in Ireland has led to new law and changed the attitudes of politicians, political parties and government on this key democratic issue. Her research had a direct influence on the Electoral (Amendment)( Political Funding) Bill (2011) which provides for gender quotas for candidates at Irish general elections. The research has also influenced the equal opportunities practices of Irish political parties (including Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour), thereby effecting an attitudinal change among political elites. Additionally, Galligan's research on political reform for gender equality influenced the Irish Constitutional Convention's second report to government. Internationally, it has influenced OSCE deliberations on political party regulation.
Research started by Professor Joni Lovenduski in 1992 and developed with Dr Rosie Campbell since 2003, influenced both policies about party political representation of women and the understandings of women's role in politics of party officials and activists. Showing that political recruitment, representation and participation are highly gendered — masculine — processes, Lovenduski and Campbell have successfully challenged the attitudes and contributed to changing processes that determine political equality between women and men. Both are routinely consulted about policy on political representation by political parties, UK government and parliament, the EU, and national and international organisations.
Research undertaken by Dr Rainbow Murray in the School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR) at QMUL has assisted governments and activists from Europe, Israel and China interested in adopting gender quotas in elections to understand their potential advantages, pitfalls and consequences. Users of her research include parliaments, intergovernmental organisations, political parties, public bodies, NGOs and the media.
Allwood's research into Women and Politics has looked at women's participation in mainstream and alternative forms of political activity; gender and policy, focusing on prostitution, violence and abortion policy; and the political participation of refugee women. The research has informed government advisory panels, think-tanks, and NGOs, in particular in debates around gender quotas and the relationship between gender and democracy. External voices and actors have helped shape the research process, and the audience of this research has made material and distinct decisions based on new insights effectively shared, as demonstrated by citations of research outputs in policy documents and discussion papers.
Using a ground-breaking database of recovered narratives of Latin American women during the Wars of Independence,
Dr Julie Gottlieb's research on women's politicization and gender roles in inter-war British extremist politics has had cultural impact in terms of the understanding of, and the coming to terms with, often uncomfortable and traumatic family memories. The personal and contemporary resonances of this research have led the media and the public, in particular the descendants of those still affected by the much-stigmatized political choices of their immediate ancestors, to become closely engaged with her work, serving to recover and understand overlooked histories. Of the audiences of hundreds who have heard her in person and hundreds of thousands who have listened to her on radio, several have contacted her with information and insights that signify a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted relationship between women and politics in the aftermath of suffrage, in particular during the crisis years between the world wars. Gottlieb's work has provided an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate women who have been sidelined in political history, providing a launching point for public discussion about women's political agency and representation almost a century after suffrage.
The findings of empirical research conducted by Professor Jim Barry and Dr Trudie Honour of UEL were shared at two focused capacity building sessions held in 2008 and 2009 for women leaders in middle and senior positions of responsibility and decision-making in the public and third sectors of a number of developing countries. Workshops were attended by women from Albania, Bahrain, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Participants considered the relevance and application of the research findings for their own countries, and worked together and with the researchers to formulate potential capacity development implementation strategies for women in positions of responsibility in those countries.
Since 2001 Professor Jo Silvester of City University London and academic colleagues have pursued a programme of applied occupational psychology research designed to improve the selection, development and performance of UK politicians. Original research with the Conservative Party (2001 to 2003) aimed to improve the quality and diversity of prospective parliamentary candidates by analysing the competencies required by MPs and designing the first evidence-based selection process for political candidates. The research triggered wide media interest and led to further projects creating and implementing evidence-based development practices for elected members in local government. In 2008 Silvester redesigned candidate selection procedures for the Liberal Democrat Party and today approximately 60% of UK parliamentary candidates are assessed using procedures developed by Silvester based on best practice in occupational psychology.
More than twenty years of sanctions and war have decimated all areas of Iraqi society, including its higher education sector. In this context, the work of Professor Nadje Al-Ali has countered conservative forces pursuing Iraqi reconstruction in ways that explicitly marginalise women. Drawing on her research on women's rights in Iraq and beyond, Al-Ali has worked to raise consciousness of how perspectives informed by gender theory can contribute to a more equitable reconstruction of Iraqi civil society. Through in-country and regional training of academics and women's rights activists, and mentoring numerous Iraqi research projects, Al-Ali has substantially progressed the promotion of women's rights and gender-based equality in Iraq.
Research by Dr Garikipati identifies that microfinance is most beneficial to women when it enables them to enhance their livelihoods and participate in the local enterprise economy. It also shows that over 80% of the microfinance loans in Andhra Pradesh, India, did not meet these conditions. Using these research findings, Dr Garikipati directly lobbied the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP). This has had an impact on governmental organisations and other stakeholders within the microfinance industry and lead to the introduction of the Livelihood Enhancement Plan (LEP), which is used at the time of loan application. Dr Garikipati collaborated with the GoAP in designing and implementing the LEP. It impacts 500,000 women per year who join the microfinance program and enables them to enhance livelihoods in keeping with the demands of the local economy.