Introduction
My research analyses how girls and young women negotiate girl power discourses in international development. I have published articles in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Girlhood Studies and Gender and Development. My work focuses on contrasting how girls are depicted in media and development discourses with girls' own interpretations of what empowerment means to them. This has included conducting media and policy analysis as well as focus groups with girls in the UK, US and Malawi. My research interests reflect my background both in youth work and the charity sector, including four years working at the British Red Cross. I am also on the editorial board of E-International Relations, the world's leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics.
Expert
My research analyses how girls and young women negotiate girl power discourses in international development. I have published articles in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Girlhood Studies and Gender and Development. My work focuses on contrasting how girls are depicted in media and development discourses with girls' own interpretations of what empowerment means to them. This has included conducting media and policy analysis as well as focus groups with girls in the UK, US and Malawi.
Before starting my PhD, I worked for several years at the British Red Cross as part of the youth team. In recent years I have completed a consultancy project for a local charity supporting female street-based sex workers, spoken at the UK Labour Party Conference, appeared on BBC radio and blogged about my research findings for Oxfam. I am on the editorial board of E-International Relations, the world's leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics, and was co-editor of one of the website's two recently published textbooks.
Fields of expertise: Gender equality, Youth