Dr Stefanie Reher is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science. After joining as a Chancellor's Fellow in 2017, Stefanie was promoted, in 2019, to her current position in the School of Government and Public Policy. Her research focuses on political representation, behaviour, and attitudes. Her work uses quantitative methods to study how well public policy reflects the preferences and views of citizens, what explains differences in representation between different social groups and countries, and how it affects individuals' attitudes towards their political system.
Stefanie's research focuses on the political engagement and representation of disabled people in politics. We know that being disabled can have detrimental effects on people’s chances in various spheres of society, including education, the labour market, and social and family life. However, very little research has been done on the political inclusion of disabled people – even though the political representation of marginalised social groups is thought to be crucial for tackling inequalities, discrimination, and stigmatisation.
From the research, Stefanie finds that citizens with disabilities are less engaged and less confident in the political process across Europe. Although differences in resources and discrimination play a role, we need more research to understand these gaps. Disabled people are also under-represented among political office-holders. Together with Dr Elizabeth Evans (Goldsmiths, University of London) they conducted a study for the UK Government Equalities Office about the barriers that disabled people face when standing for elected office. They are interviewing former and current candidates, Councillors, and MPs to learn from their experiences and strategies to overcome the various barriers. The outcomes of the study will inform Government policy aimed at increasing the representation of disabled people in politics.
Latest publications
Stefanie has published two papers on disability and political representation in the last few months.
The first looks at how voters evaluate disabled candidates and features in Frontiers.
In the piece, Stefanie tells Frontiers ‘‘Stereotypes can serve as ‘information shortcuts’. Being aware of how stereotypes and assumptions might affect one’s beliefs might help voters make more deliberate decisions.’’
You can explore the research here.
The second paper asks the question ‘Do Disabled Candidates Represent Disabled Citizens?’. The research finds that on some key policy issues like healthcare, disabled candidates are better representatives of disabled citizens.
Keep up-to-date with Stefanie’s current research here.
