Amanda Clayton

Media Appearances

• Biden’s first foreign trip as VP was a breeze; Harris’ was into the lion’s den

  Some of the scrutiny she drew may have had an element of sexism and racism, said Amanda Clayton, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University, who studies gender in politics and finds that women — especially women of color — are under more pressure than men to deliver a flawless public performance.

  June 11th, 2021

• Why Kamala Harris and ‘Firsts’ Matter, and Where They Fall Short

  “There’s a lot of empirical evidence that you can’t be what you can’t see,” said Amanda Clayton, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University. “Citizens get used to seeing women in certain places, and I think once your idea of who can lead changes, there’s more demand for it. My students that grew up in the Obama era can’t imagine two white men on a ticket.”

  January 21st, 2021

• What Kamala Harris’ victory means for America

  She could take the lead managing the coronavirus pandemic. Health care is an issue on which women politicians tend to devote more attention than do men. U.S. congresswomen are more likely than U.S. congressmen to talk about health care in congressional debates by a large margin. Around the world, countries with more women in office tend to spend more on public health, and many female leaders have been praised for their coronavirus responses in their countries (New Zealand, Germany, Finland). Given that health care is an issue that women tend to ‘own,’ giving Harris a leading role here may give Americans some needed confidence in our national response.”

  November 13th, 2020

• ‘Harris Has the Potential To Change the Face of U.S. Politics’

  Amanda Clayton is a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. Her research concerns political institutions, representation and public policy, with a focus on gender and politics. When Joe Biden served as vice president in the Barack Obama administration, he held important policy roles from the very beginning on issues both foreign (Afghanistan) and domestic (the economic recovery). It seems likely that Biden will want Harris to serve an equally active role. What areas might this be in? Let me just mention the one that will be the most pressing: the coronavirus pandemic. There may be some symbolism to Harris’ role here in multiple dimensions. First, Vice President Mike Pence was tasked with managing the pandemic, and the Biden-Harris administration may want to highlight her competence as a foil to the incompetence of her predecessor in this area. Second, health care is an issue on which women politicians tend to devote more attention than do men. U.S. congresswomen are more likely than U.S. congressmen to talk about health care in congressional debates by a large margin. Around the world, countries with more women in office tend to spend more on public health, and many female leaders have been praised for their coronavirus responses in their countries (New Zealand, Germany, Finland). Given that health care is an issue that women tend to “own,” giving Harris a leading role here may give Americans some needed confidence in our national response.

  November 7th, 2020

• Trump Targets Kamala Harris as Attacks on Biden Fall Flat

  Amanda Clayton, a Vanderbilt University political science professor with a specialty in gender and politics, agrees. "Nothing is sticking – no nickname Trump has for him. He's a folksy old white man, and that's what people are used to seeing in politics," Clayton says of Biden. "So they go back to their playbook of demonizing people of color or women."

  October 29th, 2020

• Kamala Harris and the ‘Double Bind’ of Racism and Sexism

  This is “the classic double bind,” said Amanda Clayton, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University. “Women can either be seen as leaders or they can be seen as feminine, and the two don’t go together.”

  October 19th, 2020

• ‘She May Very Well Hold the Key to Biden’s Win’

  ‘The Democratic presidential ticket will not be shared by two white men for the foreseeable future’ Amanda Clayton is an assistant professor of political science and Vanderbilt. Biden’s pick is historic. Choosing a Black woman to join him in the White House sends a powerful message of respect and appreciation to the Democratic Party’s staunchest and most reliable supporter voters—Black women. Black women are the Democratic base, and for the first time they will be represented on a major presidential ticket.

  August 12th, 2020

• The Gender War, 2018 Edition

  In an email, Amanda Clayton, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt, described the political transformation of women starting in the 1960s: "When women did not work, they would often assume the political preferences of their husbands. When women didn’t have access to income they held more socially conservative views in part because they wanted to protect the sanctity of their marriages and shore up against the possibility of divorce lest they be left without a breadwinner."

  October 25th, 2018

• The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh

  Judicial temperament is one of the most important qualities of a judge. As the Congressional Research Service explains, a judge requires “a personality that is even-handed, unbiased, impartial, courteous yet firm, and dedicated to a process, not a result.” The concern for judicial temperament dates back to our founding; in Federalist 78, titled “Judges as Guardians of the Constitution,” Alexander Hamilton expressed the need for “the integrity and moderation of the judiciary.”

  October 3rd, 2018

• Why adding a female prosecutor to the Kavanaugh hearing still may not shift the GOP’s optics

  Research highlighted in a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed by political scientist Diana O’Brien and her colleagues, Amanda Clayton at Vanderbilt University and Jennifer Piscopo at Occidental College, studied how Americans view decisions made by an all-male panel or a gender-balanced one. In experiments, they had people read a fictitious newspaper article about a state legislative committee considering sexual harassment policies. Some were told the panel was eight men; others were told the panel was split evenly between men and women.

  September 27th, 2018