Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Cost: Free

Doors open: 7:00pm | Presentation starts 7:30pm

Location: Rick Allen Room in the Herrett Center, Twin Falls, ID

How Girls and Boys View Politics Differently and Why It Matters

Kids’ early experiences and perceptions politics and political leadership influence their future interest and participation in the political world. In this presentation, I will share data from 1,600 kids ages 6-12 that helps us understand how kids view politics and political leadership. The data demonstrate that through gendered political socialization, kids are socialized both to gender roles and to politics as a masculine space, which can result in girls retreating from political interest and engagement. This highlights the need for increased attention to and intervention to address this challenge such as through providing more female political role models to kids.

About the Presenter

Dr. Angie Bos is Professor and Dean of the School of Public Service at Boise State University. Prior to this she spent 15 years as Professor of Political Science at the College of Wooster where she also served as Associate Dean for Experiential Learning and as Chair of the Department of Political Science. Dr. Bos’ career has centered on creating transformative learning experiences for students and helping prepare them for careers in public service.

Dr. Bos has a strong record of publishing research on gender and political leadership and creating public-facing scholarship to improve women’s representation in our public institutions. Part of her research examines the gendered aspects of how kids view political leadership, and how that impacts especially girls’ political engagement and interest. Bos’ research is published in journals such as the American Political Science Review, Political Psychology, and Political Communication.

Bos earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Minnesota-Morris and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.