Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Voice of America Interviews Women & Politics

On January 25th, Founder and Director, Dr. Karen O'Connor sat at her desk surrounded by cameras, lights, and microphones. It was another ordinary day for the experienced political scientist who finds herself answering questions about the election quite frequently now. But this time it wasn't a student asking the questions though, but rather Alex Villarreal, broadcaster for Voice of America.

With the election well underway and gaining great momentum, Voice of America spoke to Dr. O'Connor about the importance of the women's vote.

"Clinton's New Hampshire success depended upon women. You can never underestimate the importance of one-to-one contact. New Hampshire was more one-to-one contact than even Iowa was,” she says. “So what you ended up with – the campaign really focusing on women's votes, because without them, Hillary Clinton cannot win."

Other students and staff of the Women & Politics Institute were asked about who they were going to vote for and what determined their vote. More specifically, what weight the role of gender placed on their decision. Jessi Saracino, the Institute's Women & Political Research Conference Coordinator, can be seen in the video interview highlighted here on Voice of America's website.

Check back often for more updates and news about the Women & Politics Institute's work.