Against the backdrop of Kamala Harris’ historic campaign for the White House, the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at ANU and the United States Studies Centre's Women in the Alliance initiative hosted a discussion about the gendered dynamics shaping the upcoming US election.
Speakers included former US Congresswomen Barbara Comstock and Kathleen Rice, leading US politics expert and former Chief of Staff to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Bruce Wolpe, former Australian Senator and the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament, The Hon. Lisa Singh, Professor Michelle Ryan, Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and globally renowned leadership and gender equality expert and Elfy Scott, an award-winning journalist, podcaster and presenter.
The discussion focused on the experience of women running for election and the gendered dynamics animating the US presidential race, as well as a broader look at what the US election result will mean for Australia.
About the speakers
Barbara Comstock was first elected to Congress in 2014 and served two terms representing Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. Prior to Congress, she served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. Barbara was named one of the "Top Ten Most Effective Lawmakers" in the 115th Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint effort of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and has been a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, UVA’s Center for Politics, and the American University Sine Institute. Barbara serves as an ABC News political contributor, and appears regularly on CNN, PBS, and MSNBC. She served on the Boards of Vivint Home Security, Trustar Bank, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and UVA’s Miller Center for the Study of the Presidency.
Kathleen Rice is an attorney and politician who most recently served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Member for New York’s Fourth Congressional District. Prior to Congress, Rice established her career in public service as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, NY, went on to be appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Philadelphia office, and served as the District Attorney of Nassau County. Kathleen was first elected to Congress in 2014 where she served for eight years. During this time, she established herself as a leader and strong advocate for bipartisanship. She was an active member of congressional caucuses during her tenure including the House Bipartisan Working Group, New Democrat Coalition, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force where she served as Vice Chair, Democratic Women’s Caucus and co-chaired the House Whistleblower Protection Caucus.
The Hon. Lisa Singh is a former Australian Senator and was the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament. She is also a former Tasmanian Member of Parliament and Minister in the Tasmanian Government. She is currently the CEO of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne, a leading research and policy thinktank advancing Australia-India relations at the government, business, diaspora and academic levels. She has previously served as Deputy Chair on the Australian Government’s Australia-India Council and currently sits on the advisory board of Asialink at University of Melbourne. She is also a Board director of Beyond Blue, Australia’s well-known mental health organisation.
Professor Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology and the Director of The Global Institute for Women's Leadership. With Alex Haslam, she uncovered the phenomenon of the glass cliff. Since its discovery, the term ‘glass cliff’ has entered public discourse and informs and shapes debate, and public understanding of women’s leadership positions. Michelle is currently researching the way in which context and identity shape and constrain women's career choices. She also examines women's ambition in the workplace, work-life balance, men's support for gender equality, gender differences in risk taking, leadership succession, workplace intersectionality, workplace gender stereotypes, ambition and gendered status in the workplace.
Bruce Wolpe is a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre. Bruce is a regular contributor on US politics across media platforms in Australia. In recent years, Bruce has worked with the Democrats in Congress during President Barack Obama's first term, and on the staff of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He has also served as the former PM's chief of staff. Bruce is author of Trump's Australia, an examination of Donald Trump's possible return to the presidency and the issues presented to Australia, The Committee, a study of President Obama's legislative agenda in Congress and Lobbying Congress: How The System Works.
Elfy Scott is an award-winning journalist, podcaster and presenter working in Sydney. Elfy’s journalism has featured in publications such as The Saturday Paper, The Guardian, The Age, Crikey, The Feed, BuzzFeed News, and VICE. Her debut book The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About was published in early 2023 with Pantera Press and focuses on the silence and stigma that still surrounds complex mental health conditions in Australia. She is one of the recipients of Writers Victoria’s Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund for 2024 and is currently researching her second book, which will focus on generational inequality and hope. Elfy previously worked as Executive Editor at Mamamia in 2023, and co-hosted and produced the Spotify exclusive politics show Left Right Out and The Green Canary, an environmental news podcast. In 2021, Elfy won a B&T 30 Under 30 award in the producer and journalist category for her work with The Junkee Takeaway.
