Gender Representation and Strategies for Panel Diversity: Lessons from the APSA Annual Conference

Abstract

Gender representation is a pervasive problem in political science. We draw on evidence from the 2017 and 2018 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting programs to discuss diversity and representation in large political science disciplinary conferences. APSA program divisions differ substantially in their gender representation: although some are representative of their organized section membership, others are not, and some sections are particularly likely to feature "manels." We present representation data by organization section, with discussions of what representation looks like and identifying different kinds of representation goals. We conclude by offering guidelines for increasing gender representation, both for future submitters and program chairs.

Keywords: gender, political science, diversity, representation