Fem-LEAD

I am awarded an European Research Council Starting Grant for the project Fem-LEAD: Female Leaders and Effects from African Droughts. The five-year project (1.5 million Euro), runs until the end of 2028. This competitive grant will allow me to establish a research group, consisting of collaborators that are internationally renowned researchers and excellent postdoctoral fellows as well as research assistants.

Note: We are hiring two postdocs the fall of 2025 – feel free to spread the word!

In brief, Fem-LEAD seeks to understand the connections between weather-related disasters and women’s political standing in politics in African countries. The project focuses on environmental shocks, public opinion and political representation. We use a range of approaches to design cutting-edge studies to advance our understanding of these processes. Funds allow us to collect and combine various forms of original data (e.g. experimental and observational). The project collects and analyzes unique data on women as local candidates and representatives in African countries, not the least South Africa, but also in other regions of the world.

Beyond its specific aims, work within the project extends broadly to study a range of related processes , e.g., but not limited to, how other types of shocks affect attitudes and representation electoral accountability more broadly, and the impact from women’s political presence on different outcomes. Generally, the research group is interested in how natural disasters and various forms of environmental shocks affect political outcomes.

Example of work in the project:

Elia, E., A. Sundström, S. Dawson. Climate Shocks, Gender and Incumbency Punishment. QoG Working Paper 2025:6.