The women reshaping conservative politics in America | Research for the Real World

We explore how conservative Christian women have become influential organisers, campaigners and political actors in the United States.

Jason Ilagan is joined by Dr Katie Gaddini, who has drawn on a decade of ethnographic research with her new book ‘Esther’s Army’ challenging assumptions that women in right-wing movements are politically passive, instead revealing the diverse ways they organise, mobilise and influence political life.

We hear how ideas around motherhood, protection and empowerment have become powerful political tools, and considers what these developments can tell us about the future of political mobilisation both in the US and beyond.

The episode examines what these trends mean for policymakers, educators and anyone seeking to understand an increasingly polarised political landscape.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2026/sep/women-reshaping-conservative-politics-america-research-real-world

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Photo: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 4.0)