Karyn Loscocco's Research Projects

Gender, Work and Family: The Upstate New York Small Business Project

• This project examines key questions about gender, work and family in the context of small business ownership, a growing sector of the economy which women have been entering in record numbers. The study is organized around two related questions: How do structural and individual variables contribute to inequality between men and women who employ themselves? How does family intersect with work to shape the economic and personal lives of people who control their own labor? Extensive data were collected through structured, confidential face-to-face interviews with equal numbers of women and men who own businesses in the upstate New York area.

The Social Construction of Race among Children

• This is a multi-faceted project on how children, especially white ones, learn about their own and others' racial identity. We emphasize education, children's books, and the media, as major sources of information.

Appointed Policy Makers in State Government: Gender and Agenda Setting

• This recently completed study examined the role of gender in policy agenda-setting, seeking to identify both the extent to which, and the circumstances under which, women and men appointed to top positions in state government pursue policies that are specifically intended to benefit women. Data were gathered through mail survey. Results can be found in Judith R. Saidel and Karyn Loscocco. 2005. "Agency Leaders, Gendered Institutions and Representative Bureaucracy. Public Administration Review. 65:158-170.