Rice Undergraduate Research Papers

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Browsing Rice Undergraduate Research Papers by Subject "Gender"

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    Exploring Barriers to Women's Political Representation in Thailand
    (Rice University, 2020) Palladino, Lauren
    Gender quotas have proven to be one of the more effective ways of improving women’s representation in legislatures worldwide. While extensive literature exists on the efficacy of these quotas throughout Europe, the Americas, and Africa, there is a newfound need to shift focus to gender representation in Southeast Asian nations. This study applies many of the existing theories on gender quotas to existing quotas throughout Southeast Asia, specifically examining the anomaly of Thailand. While Thailand continues to lag behind other South- east Asian nations, the results of this study hint at the more complex sociocultural forces at play. These findings are consistent with existing theories of women’s representation in global legislatures, and suggest that the efficacy of gender quotas is largely dependent on the context of each nation individually. The results of this study hold critical implications for understanding both women’s roles in government, as well as the barriers to implementing institutional changes for equality.
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    In a Man’s World: Jacqueline Kennedy, Cultural Diplomacy, and Gender in the Kennedy Administration, 1961-1963
    (Rice University, 2025-04-16) McKenzie, Annie; Citino, Nathan; Mogen, Philip
    During the Kennedy administration (1961-1963), Jacqueline Kennedy functioned as a cultural diplomat, helping convey the administration’s political messaging. Specifically, she aided in the presentation of the US as the new Western, modern superpower, whose material and cultural prosperity was a result of its democratic and capitalist system. To communicate this effectively, Mrs. Kennedy played into the expectations of Cold War American femininity, presenting herself as the ideal American woman whose life revolved around the domestic sphere. In her diplomatic endeavors, she underscored the image of the United States as a leader on scale with its European peers, yet one who was sympathetic to developing countries. Although often thought of as mostly apolitical, examining her work on the White House Tour and Restoration, state dinners and official international trips reveals Jacqueline’s role as an essential part of the Kennedy administration’s diplomacy during the escalating Cold War.