Jennifer L. Lawless

Jennifer L. Lawless
Jennifer Lawless speaks at a 2015 book event.
Born	(1975-03-12) March 12, 1975 (age 41)
Academic background
Alma mater	Stanford University
Academic work
Institutions	Women & Politics Institute

Jennifer L. Lawless (born March 12, 1975) serves as the current director of the Women & Politics Institute, as well as a Professor of Government at American University.

She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2003 and her B.A. from Union College in 1997; both degrees were in political science. Lawless was hired at American University in the fall of 2009. Before this, Lawless was employed at Brown University as an Assistant Professor of Political Science.

The central focuses of Lawless’s courses and research are women and politics, campaigns, and elections. Courses she has taught at American University include: "Women & Politics," "Women & Political Leadership," and "Women, Politics & Public Policy." Her research regarding female candidates and election results is published in a number of political science journals, including American Journal of Political Science, Perspectives on Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, The Journal of Politics, Politics & Gender, and Women & Politics. News outlets regularly quote this scholarship, particularly during campaign season. Her commentary has appeared in newspapers such as, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other local publications. She has also been cited onCNN.com, MSNBC.com, and FOXNews.com and has published on CNN Opinion on CNN.com.

With Richard L. Fox, Lawless is the co-author of three books: "It Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office". "It Still Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office" and "Running from Office: Why Young Americans Are Turned Off to Politics", She is also the author of "Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office", and of multiple Brookings Institution reports, which Emerge America, the Women’s Campaign Forum, and other women’s organizations that recruit female political candidates frequently utilize for their own work.