Alana Jeydel, Ph.D.
alana.jeydel@fresnocitycollege.edu
Assistant Professor
Fresno City College
Year of PhD: 1998
Phone: 9166162049
City: Fresno, California - 93728
Country: United States
About Me:
Dr. Alana Jeydel is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fresno City College. Her main area of research is women and politics, in particular the suffrage and ERA movements in the US. She has published 2 books on women in politics and numerous refereed journal articles. Her current research project concerns the barriers females face to announcing a run for Governor. Public facing pieces on this work appear in The Academic Minute and Governing. She formerly managed the Education program in the Legal division of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the state campaign and lobbying ethics agency. She is a content matter expert in the California Political Reform Act and its regulations, which seeks to guarantee transparency in the areas of campaign finance and elections in California as well as lobbying in California.
Research Interests
Gender and Politics
Elections, Election Administration, and Voting Behavior
Representation and Electoral Systems
Legislative Politics
Women's Suffrage
Women In Politics
Women's Movements
Campaign Finance
Elections
Countries of Interest
United States
My Research:
Alana Jeydel earned her Phd from American University. Her dissertation, published with Routledge Press, looked at the conditions under which the three waves of the women's movement gained access to and response from political elites in the US Congress and Presidency. She has also co-authored a text with Sarah Henderson, published with Oxford University Press, on women and politics from a comparative perspective. The book, Participation and Protest, looks at the impact that women have had on politics via social movements, revolutions, and political institutions, as well as the impact that politics has on women's lives via policies such as abortion, family leave, sexual harrassment, and pay. It concludes with chapters that look at issues of particular concern to women in the developing world, like female genital cutting, rape during war, honor killings, HIV, and education. Her current research project involves looking at the barriers that females face in announcing a run for Governor. In addition, she and her colleague have gathered a unique data set on the political experience of all the females who have announced a run for Governor in 2022.
Publications:
Journal Articles:
Although women now occupy a record number of governorships and the number of women running for governor has increased significantly in the last four years, women still run for governor at lower rates than men. This study examines why there have been so few women gubernatorial candidates in primary elections using a dataset that includes every primary election or convention used to select major party gubernatorial nominees from 1978 through 2022. We examine four distinct areas to learn why so few women run: the potential candidate pool; candidates, parties, and voters as strategic actors; gubernatorial office structure; and major political, social, and cultural events and their impact on candidate pools. With some important differences between the Democratic and Republican parties, we find that each of these areas has a significant impact on whether women run for governor. Notably, we find that the pipeline is significant for Republican women during the period of study but not for Democratic women. Office structure, incumbent governors, and events such as those surrounding the 2016 election, also impact whether women run for governor. The results indicate that states can adopt changes to the structure of the governor’s office, and parties can adopt rules and facilitate norms that are favorable to women.
How did the pandemic impact local elections in California? This commentary examines what changes to campaigning by local candidates in California were prompted by the pandemic, which changes will likely persist, and suggests some questions for future research.
This article looks at the impact of gender and incumbency on county supervisor races in California..
Co-authored with Dr. Andrew Taylor
Co-authored with Dr. Brent Steel
Looks at the impact of the emergence of the modern presidency on the women's suffrage movement in the U.S.
Looks at the conditions under which the U.S. women's suffrage movement gained access to and response from the U.S. Congress.
Co-authored with Blair Horner and Russ Haven.
Co-authored with Dr. William LeoGrande.
Books Written:
This book looks comparatively at the impact women have had on politics via revolutions, social movements, and political institutions. It also looks at the ways in which politics impacts women's lives via policies such as equal pay, abortion, and family leave, among others. Finally, it examines issues of particular concern to women in the developing world, such as female genital cutting, honor killings, trafficking, and education.
Under what conditions are political elites responsive to social movements, and when do social movements gain access to political elites? This book explores this question with regard to the women’s movement in the U.S., asking under what conditions are Congress and the presidency responsive to the women’s movement, and when will the women’s movement gain access to Congress and the presidency?
Book Chapters:
Chapter considers the various types of local government in Oregon.
Book Reviews:
Reviewed Patrizia Longo's book, Justice Unbound.
A review of Sally Kenney's book on Gender and Justice.
A review of Kathleen Blee's work on women in white nationalist movements in the U.S.
A review of Maryanne Borrelli's work on presidential cabinets and gender.
Other:
While more women than ever are running for – and winning – US state governorships, they still run at lower rates than men. This research looks at what encourages and discourages women from running for governor. Looking at more than 40 years of data, we find that elements of states’ electoral and governing arrangements from public financing to term limits can have an important impact on both Democratic and Republican women’s decision to run for governor. We also find that women – especially Democratic women – are less likely to challenge an incumbent from their own party, something that ultimately may hinder the election of more women to governors’ offices.
To understand the backgrounds of the candidates running for governor in 2022, we have gathered information on the prior political experience of all 420 announced candidates for governor in 2022, and from previous years, stretching back to 1978. In this article we discuss seven things we found out about the record number of recently elected women to governorships and what they mean for American politics.
We see more female major gubernatorial candidates than ever before. We have gathered unique data on the prior political experience of all 421 announced candidates. Here we have found that Democratic female candidates are more likely to have held political experience than others. 52.5 percent of 2022 Democratic female gubernatorial candidates have held elective office, as compared to only 37.7% of Republican females, and 32.9% of all male candidates.
With 36 governorships at stake, more women from both parties are running this year, and more are winning their primaries. That’s happening despite the fact that women must overcome barriers that few men face.
The victory of the Weinstein verdict for the #MeToo movement will not have the same impact on women and feminism now that the coronavirus crisis has all our attention.
Where does the #MeToo movement fit on the larger scale of women’s movements throughout history?
co-authored with Blair Horner and Russ Haven.
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
Interviewed by Megan Rupe on the sanctions in Ukraine. February 25, 2022
Offered political analysis on incoming election results for the Central Valley of CA on election night, November 8th, 2022.
Research that I conducted with Dr. Bill Wilkerson was discussed during CBS national news election night coverage of the Gubernatorial races. Minute 5.
Interviewed regarding the CA 22nd congressional race between Valadao and Salas.
Interviewed on November 15 by Elisa Navarro about the Congressional race for District 22 betwen David Valadao and Rudy Salas.
Radio Appearances:
Part of a panel interviewed during Insight: Capitol Chat, upon the 100th anniversary of Women's suffrage in California.
Newspaper Quotes:
Article assessing the impact of female cabinet members and executive staff.
The article looks at the Baylor sexual assault scandal and its connections to the Me Too movement.
Interviewed regarding Carly Fiorina's run for the Presidency.