Research Project Summary
We are pleased to offer an opportunity for a fully funded PhD position to join the TWICEASGOOD project (Twice as Hard, Half as Good? Women Candidates’ Experience of Sexism on the Campaign Trail, an ERC Advanced grant funded by the European Research Council (101019284).
The successful applicant will develop their own PhD project related to the themes of the project, with the support of a supervisor. The PhD researcher will also support research to meet the overall objectives of the project including contributing to data collection and jointly authored research outputs.
We are an international, multi-disciplinary team led by Professor Susan Banducci (Exeter) and working with Royal Holloway, University of London, Koç University [Turkey], University of Amsterdam & the Spanish National Research Council (Madrid)
Project Description
TWICEASGOOD, a five-year programme of research, aims to better understand how encounters of “everyday sexism” on the campaign trail, both online and offline and in the media, shape women’s campaign efforts and chances at electoral success. How does sexism affect women’s pathway to political office? Scholars have claimed that voter sexism is over because women candidates win elections at the same rate as men. However, the emergence of a gender equality backlash, misogynistic social media campaigns and the continued under-representation of women in political office globally, indicate a need to re-examine whether sexism acts as a barrier to women’s representation.
For the proposed programme of research in TWICEASGOOD, we reconceptualize the “gender penalty” faced by women candidates to take into account the sexism, threats of violence that they face online, through social media, in the traditional media and in face-to-face encounters. We aim to understand the extent of these types of sexism as well as the ways in which women candidates anticipate and counter them, by being “twice as good”, in order to achieve electoral success. To better understand how encounters of “everyday sexism” on the campaign trail, both online and offline and in the media, shape women’s campaign efforts and chances at electoral success, we will undertake a programme of research that captures candidate experiences of sexism and assesses their impact on electoral outcomes. To capture how sexism is experienced “everyday” on the campaign trail, we bring together participant-observation of candidates on the campaign trail in four countries with quantitative media analysis, candidate surveys and a battery of items administered in Round 11 of the European Social Survey to create a cross-national sexism index.
We are recruiting a researcher to undertake a PhD as part of the project. The successful applicant will develop their own piece of research and contribute to the aims of objectives of the programme of research. We are seeking candidates who wish to develop expertise in ethnographic, survey research, computational methods and/or advanced quantitative methods and whose substantive interests are in gender studies, media, politics, and society.
We are open to and encourage applications from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds -- political science, anthropology, sociology or other related social science disciplines. The PhD researcher would complement the expertise and language skills of the other researchers on the team, share expertise and explore new methods in collaborating with researchers from diverse backgrounds. We are particularly keen to build a team with language skills in Spanish, Dutch and Turkish.
Work is based in Exeter but will require international travel and fieldwork.
For more information about the project and informal enquiries, please contact the primary supervisor, Susan Banducci ([Email Address Removed])
Academic Entry Requirements:
You should have or expect to achieve at least a 2:1 Honours first degree, or international equivalent, in a social science discipline (e.g. Economics, Politics, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology or related) and have obtained, or be currently working towards, a Master’s degree at Merit level or international equivalent, in a relevant social science and/or data science discipline. Ability in a second language is desirable, especially the languages of the project (Spanish, Dutch, Turkish or Kurdish), but not necessary.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information and a list of acceptable alternative tests.
Residency Entry Requirements:
1) UK and International
This studentship, including full tuition fees and maintenance allowance, is available to UK and International candidates.
How to Apply:
You will be asked to submit some personal details and upload a full CV, covering letter, research proposal that is within the scope of the TWICEASGOOD programme of research (we advise that you consult with lead supervisor on this proposal)) and details of two academic referees. Your covering letter should outline your academic interests, prior research experience and reasons for wishing to undertake this project.
You will be asked to upload verified transcripts of your most academic qualification.
All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.
You must arrange for your referees to email their references to [Email Address Removed] from their institutional email accounts by the application deadline.
Please note that we will not be contacting referees to request references, you must arrange for them to be submitted by your referees. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.
Interviews will be held at remotely week commencing 7 March, 2022.
Please quote reference 4401 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.
For general information about this studentship and the application process, please contact [Email Address Removed].
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