Dr Leah Hibbs

Lecturer

My research interests centre around gender, representation, equality, diversity, civil society, and political participation. I use mainly qualitative methods to understand lived experience, and to draw attention to the ways in which our experiences, institutions, and arenas of political/civic life are influenced by gender.

My doctoral thesis explored the experiences of women local councillors in Welsh local government - an under-researched area in the fields of feminist political science and politics and gender studies. My thesis is titled: Gendered Experiences, Institutions, Leadership and Representation: A Feminist Institutionalist A nalysis of Welsh Local Government. It is an in-depth qualitative study of women's experiences as local councillors, as well as an analysis of how local councils in Wales are gendered institutions. I discuss topics including: barriers to participation, sexism and gendered abuse of local politicians, women's routes and experiences of leadership, and whether women's presence changes policy and how politics is done.

Current Publications (Open Access):

Hibbs, L. 2022. "I was able to take part in the chamber as if I was there"- women local councillors, remote meeting attendance, and Covid-19: a positive from the pandemic? Journal for Cultural Research (Gendered Pandemic special issue forthcoming). Available here: https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2021.2011365

Hibbs, L. 2022. “I could do that!”– The role of a women's non-governmental organisation in increasing women's psychological empowerment and civic participation in Wales. Women's Studies International Forum 90. Available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2021.102557