Scholar Spotlight: Malliga Och

This week, we're highlighting Malliga Och, an assistant professor at Idaho State University who studies women in conservative parties and methods to increase gender equality in politics. The year 2018 has been described as the Year of the Woman, with the most diverse group in history being sworn into Congress. However, the number of Republican women in Congress actually decreased, from 23 to 13 members. Malliga and Shauna Shames explain their research and why a lack of women in office is bad for democracy and feminism in a piece for The Conversation, which gained traction in the media this week.

Scholar Spotlight

Idaho State University

Och explores the impact of women in conservative parties and the kind of women who are elected to politics in advanced industrialized nations. Before joining Idaho State University, she was the Research Director of Political Parity, a program of the Hunt Alternative Fund in Cambridge, MA where she supervised several research projects exploring innovative strategies to increase the number of women in US Politics. Och is the Co-Chair of the Denver for CEDAW Campaign, a program by the United Nations Association USA which urges US cities to adopt the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination as defined in the UN Convention to End All forms of Discrimination Against Women in city ordinances.

Previously, Och was the Committee Chair for Educational Outreach at the United Nations Association Denver Chapter, and a member of the Colorado Leadership Council of the White House Project, the Public Advisory Committee and Small Donor Committee of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, the Diversity Council of Big Sister Association Boston, and a core member of Women in NAAP Boston.