Wilson
The Westfield Washington Public Library, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Hamilton County, will soon host a speaker on the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Movement Centennial, a program of Indiana Humanities. Funding was provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and Hillenbrand, Inc.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 in the Community Room of the Westfield Washington Public Library, 333 W. Hoover St., Westfield, Laura Merrifield Wilson will present “Have We Come a Long Way, Baby? How successful have women been in elected politics post-suffrage? What barriers remain?”
Women comprise a majority of the population yet remain underrepresented within American government. In fact, Indiana trails most national numbers and remains one of five states in the country to never have elected a female governor or senator. One hundred years post-suffrage, this lack of representation presses the question of “why?” Wilson’s talk addresses this question by bridging historical narratives with current statistics. By sharing her key research findings, exploring larger national trends and analyzing influential factors, she hopes that a better understanding of the past will enable citizens to work toward encouraging and electing more women in politics today.
Laura Merrifield Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Indianapolis, where she specializes in gender politics, campaigns and elections, and state government. She earned her Bachelors in Theatre (2008) and Masters in Political Science (2010) from Ohio University and her Masters in Women’s Studies (2014), Masters in Public Administration (2012), and PhD in American Politics (2014) from the University of Alabama. Wilson is a regular panelist on CBS 4’s/Fox 59’s “IN Focus” and is the producer and host of WICR 88.7’s “Positively Politics.”