Summary
The Gender and Policy (GAP) Center leverages the existing expertise of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government to investigate and address the underrepresentation of women in positions of influence and power in the public sphere, as well as identify policy inequities for women and other underrepresented groups.
Tackling topics in three primary areas—politics and public authority, women’s health and wellbeing, and gender-based violence—GAP Center faculty and students collaborate as researchers, and benefit from the extensive knowledge and expertise of an Advisory Board comprised of professionals from the public and private sectors.
Bonnie Stabile is the founder and director of the Gender and Policy (GAP) Center
OnAir Post: GAP – Gender and Policy Center
About
Source: Website
Since 2017, the GAP Center has tackled timely issues, bringing insights from policy theory and practice to enhance policy outcomes and address inequities. There is much work to be done, but I am proud that the Schar School is committed to educating our students and engaging with wider constituents on the critical role of gender in the policy context.
– BONNIE STABILE, PHD., DIRECTOR, GAP CENTER
The support of the Gender and Policy Center at George Mason University solidified in my mind the importance of my research on black women, leadership, and state legislatures. In a male-dominated field, it is often difficult to garner support for a research area that primarily deals with intersectional identities. My research agenda will always be an uphill battle but with the support of the GAP Center, I know it is necessary and valid work.
– DR. JATIA WRIGHTEN
The GAP Center has hosted politicians, scholars, journalists,and policymakers including:
- Congresswomen Eleanor Holmes Norton and Jennifer Wexton
- Harvard Professor Theda Skocpol
- Brookings Institution Scholar Thomas E. Mann
- Thomas B. Edsall of The New York Times
- Former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James
- Former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Acting Chair Victoria Lipnic
The GAP Center publications have focused on:
- Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management and First Response
- Social Media Use by Anti-Gender Based Violence Organizations
- Disparities in Outcomes During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Minding the GAP
The Gender and Policy (GAP) Center leverages the existing expertise of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government to investigate and address the
underrepresentation of women in positions of influence and power in the public sphere,
as well as identify policy inequities for women and other underrepresented groups.
By combining teaching, experiential learning, and scholarship about today’s most
challenging gender and policy issues, the GAP Center prepares Schar School students to
become empathetic, problem-solving leaders who excel in their chosen careers in the
communities they serve.
Tackling topics in three primary areas—politics and public authority, women’s
health and wellbeing, and gender-based violence—GAP Center faculty and students
collaborate as researchers, and benefit from the extensive knowledge and expertise of
an Advisory Board comprised of professionals from the public and private sectors.
Addressing Critical Issues
Thought leaders and policymakers with diverse perspectives convene through
scholarship and in-person and virtual forums at the GAP Center to address genderrelated issues and make serious contributions to the public debate. Previous topics have
included addressing domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic; observing the
centennial of women’s suffrage by considering racial disparities in access to the vote;
displacement and protection of women refugees; and investigating unconscious bias in
the workplace.
Since 2017, the GAP Center has tackled timely issues, bringing insights from policy theory and practice to enhance policy outcomes and address inequities. There is much work to be done, but I am proud that the Schar School is committed to educating our students and engaging with wider constituents on the critical role of gender in the policy context.
– BONNIE STABILE, PHD., DIRECTOR, GAP CENTER
Expanding Our Resources
Just as we challenge Schar School students to aim higher, we are determined to
further expand our resources so proactive, independent research continues to
advance the GAP Center’s mission. By partnering with alumni and friends like
you, we can provide meaningful support to our students.
Gifts to the GAP Center help fund:
• Dedicated faculty time
• Graduate research assistantships
• Student scholarships
• Post-doctoral fellowships
• Conference travel and publishing fees
• Administrative and logistical support for public-facing events
As a GAP Center supporter, your gift reaches well beyond the lives of our students. It extends into the communities of the people they will serve. By expanding the reach of the GAP Center through student support, you help to advance understanding, bring key players into dialogue and engage the wider community in order to achieve equitable outcomes in policy for all.
Contact
Locations
Schar School
3351 Fairfax Drive, MSN 3B1
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-993-2280
Web Links
Research
Publications
Book
Women, Power, and Rape Culture: The Politics and Policy of Underrepresentation, Bonnie Stabile and Aubrey Leigh Grant. Praeger, 2022.
Book Chapters
“Rage and Women’s Representation” Bonnie Stabile. Chapter in American Fury: Collective Action and the Politics of Moral Outrage, Myra Medible, Editor, in progress. 2023.
“Ethical Issues in Regulating Reproductive Technologies” Bonnie Stabile. Chapter in Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance, Ali Farazmand, Editor, Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-20927-2. 2018.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
“Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management and First Response: Accounting for Race and Gender in Codes of Ethics in the United States.” Bonnie Stabile, Katherine Simon, Tonya E. Thornton and Aubrey Grant. Public Integrity. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2020.1862540 Published online January 28, 2021.
“Take Back the Tweet: Exploring the Effectiveness of Social Media Use by Anti-Gender Based Violence Organizations.” Bonnie Stabile, Aubrey Grant, Hemant Purohit, and Sai Sharan Bonala. Volume 4 Issue. Sexuality, Gender and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/sgp2.12029 May 1, 2021.
“Social Media Campaigns Addressing Gender-based Violence: Policy Entrepreneurship and Advocacy Networks.” Bonnie Stabile, Hemant Purohit, Angela Hattery. Volume 3 Issue 2. Sexuality, Gender and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/sgp2.12021 November 2020.
“The Disappearing Accused: Rhetoric, Narrative, and Campus Sexual Assault.” Lourdes Fernandez, Heidi Lawrence, and Bonnie Stabile. pp. 230-245. Rhetoric Review. Volume39,Issue 2. 2020. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07350198.2020.1728833
“She Lied”: Social Construction, Rape Myth Prevalence in Social Media, and Sexual Assault Policy.” Bonnie Stabile, Aubrey Grant, Hemant Purohit and Mohammad Rama. Sexuality, Gender & Policy, December 21, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/sgp2.12011
“Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: Gendered Implications of Fake News for Women in Politics.” Bonnie Stabile, Aubrey Grant, Hemant Purohit and Kelsey Harris. 2019. Public Integrity, https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2019.1626695
“Concentrating on Gender in MPA Programs: Implications for Earnings and Equity.” Bonnie Stabile, Aubrey Grant and Shene Salih. Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE) published online January 24, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1565052
“Communicating Campus Sexual Assault: A Mixed Methods Rhetorical Analysis.” Heidi Lawrence, Lourdes Fernandez, Rachel Lussos, Bonnie Stabile and Melissa Broeckelman-Post. Technical Communications Quarterly published online May 21, 2019. DOI: 10.1080/10572252.2019.1621386
“Mothers‘ Beliefs about Indigenous and Traditional Food Affordability, Availability and Taste are Significant Predictors of Indigenous and Traditional Food Consumption among Mothers and Young Children in Rural Kenya.” Constance Gewa, Obando Angano, Maction Komwa, Bonnie Stabile, Phil Thomas. Public Health Nutrition. First View August 27, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019001848
“Distributional Semantics Approach to Detect Intent in Twitter Conversations on Sexual Assaults*.” Rahul Pandey, Hemant Purohit, Bonnie Stabile, and Aubrey Grant. Conference Proceedings; IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence (WI), Santiago, Chile, pp. 270-277. doi: 10.1109/WI.2018.00-80 (*received Best Paper Award). 2018. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8609603
“Gender and the Role of Directors of Public Administration & Policy Programs.” Bonnie Stabile, Jessica Terman and Catherine Kuerbitz. Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE). Summer, Volume 23, Issue 3. 2017. https://www-tandfonline-com.mutex.gmu.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/15236803.2017.12002290
“On the Dynamics of Local to Global Campaigns for Gender Based Violence.” Prakruthi Karuna, Hemant Purohit, Bonnie Stabile, Angela Hattery, Proceedings of International Conference on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling & Prediction and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation. 2016. arXiv:1608.01648. https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.01648
“Reproductive Policy and the Social Construction of Motherhood.” Bonnie Stabile. Politics and the Life Sciences. Volume 35, Number 2. 2016, pp. 18 – 29. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28134040/
“The Ethics of Regulating Reproductive Technologies: Women as Child Bearers, Rights Bearers and Objects of Paternalism.” Bonnie Stabile. Public Integrity, October-November. 2015. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10999922.2015.1065111
“State Infertility Insurance Law Indicators” Bonnie Stabile. World Medical & Health Policy, Volume 2, Number 3, Article 2. 2010. Available at https://doi.org/10.2202/1948-4682.1084
Select Editorials
“Women‘s Health in Global Perspective Virtual Issue Editors’ Introduction,” Bonnie Stabile and Aubrey Grant, World Medical & Health Policy, July 2018 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1948-4682.womens-health-in-global-perspective
“Social Determinants of Health Virtual Issue Editors’ Introduction,” Bonnie Stabile and Arnauld Nicogossian, World Medical & Health Policy, July 2018 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1948-4682.social-determinants-of-health
“The Year of the Woman and Beyond,” Bonnie Stabile and Arnauld Nicogossian, World Medical & Health Policy, Volume 8, Issue 4 November 2016 https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.212
Press
People
Advisory Board
Program Director: Bonnie Stabile, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs, Schar School of Policy and Government
Co-Director: Toni-Michelle Travis, Professor Emerita, Schar School of Policy and Government
GAP Advisory Board Members:
- Betsy Anderson, Anderson & Associates, LLC
- Susan Bosland, Executive Leadership Coach; former Head of School, National Cathedral School
- Jill Deering, Senior Assistant Dean of Student and Academic Affairs, Schar School of Policy and Government
- Rebecca Dooley, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
- Kate Hanley, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board Member; Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2006-2010); Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (1995-2003)
- Ellen Harpel, PhD, Founder, Smart Incentives and President of Business Development Advisors LLC (BDA)
- Ximena Hartsock, PhD, Founder, Phone2Action
- Del. Charniele Herring, Virginia House Majority Leader
- Shea Holman, Executive Director of the Purple Campaign
- Victoria Lipnic, Resolution Economics; former EEOC Commissioner and Acting Chair
- Bonita Pennino, Founding Advisory Board Member; American Cancer Society Government Relations Director
- Cynthia Reilly, MS, SVP, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
- Kelly Skoloda, Chief People Officer for Monumental Sports & Entertainment
- Jackie Stennett, Academy Women
- Stacie Whisonant, PYT FUNDS
Former Board Members
- Ally Coll, Esquire, President and Co-Founder, The Purple Campaign
- Julie Herwig, Senior Vice President, Head of Governmental Affairs at New York Life Insurance Company
- Maryam Ovissi, Founder and Director, Beloved Yoga
In Memoriam
- Martin Tolchin, Senior Scholar, The Wilson Center; Former Congressional Correspondent, New York Times; Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief, The Hill Newspaper
Faculty Affiliates
Jo-Marie Burt, Associate Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government; Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) a leading human rights research and advocacy organization; and member of “Women Also Know Stuff.” Current research on gender-based violence as a weapon of war and efforts to pursue justice for violence against women and indigenous communities in post-conflict societies. @jomaburt
Connie McNeely, sociologist and Professor of Public Policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where she is also Co-Director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy.
Laurie Schintler, Associate Professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where she also serves as Director of the Transportation, Policy, Operations, and Logistics (TPOL) Master’s degree program and Director of Data and Technology Research Initiatives in the Center for Regional Analysis.
Jessica Terman, Assistant Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, and active member of “Academic Women in Public Administration,” network of academic women in public administration seeking to address gender issues in the field. #AWPA, @awparocks, https://awparocks.weebly.com/
Jennifer Victor, Associate Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, and active member of “Women Also Know Stuff,” which promotes and publicizes the work and expertise of scholars in political science who identify as women. #WomenAlsoKnow, @womenalsoknow, womenalsoknowstuff.com
Student
Aubrey Grant, PhD Candidate, Recipient of the Gender and Policy Leadership Award 2019
Alumni
- Rebecca Dooley, BA, Government and International Politics, Co-Recipient of Inaugural Gender and Policy Leadership Award 2018
- Danielle Melton, BA, Government and International Politics, Co-Recipient of Inaugural Gender and Policy Leadership Award 2018
- Kimble Burke Snyder, Master of Science in Health and Medical Policy (MS HMP)
- Catherine Kuerbitz, Master of Public Policy (MPP)
- Atima Omara, Master of Public Policy (MPP)
- Lilliana Nava Ramirez, Master of Public Policy (MPP)
- Katarlah Taylor, Master of Public Policy (MPP)
- Jatia Wrighten, Doctorate of Political Science, Recipient of the Gender and Policy Leadership Award 2020.
GMU Cross Campus Collaborators:
- Angela Hattery, Professor, Department of Women & Gender Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Delaware
- Heidi Lawrence, Assistant Professor, English, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS)
- Hemant Purohit, Assistant Professor, Volgenau School of Engineering
