Research
Policy-Relevant and Action-Oriented
The center conducts policy-relevant and action-oriented research to inform policymaking and initiatives to ensure equity, well-being, and justice for all of those who identify as female and gender expansive individuals. The center also examines public leadership with an emphasis on women of color to help strengthen diverse forms of women’s leadership. Building on its long-term commitment to explore the combined impacts of gender, race/ethnicity, class and other aspects of identity on policymaking and politics, the center prioritizes the experiences of underrepresented, low-income, and marginalized women.
The center’s research team is actively engaged in the following projects, all of which are collaborative and multidisciplinary:
SouthCoast Empowered by Equity Data (SEED) Initiative
In 2024, the center, in partnership with the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, launched the SouthCoast Empowered by Equity Data (SEED) Initiative. This multi-phase effort to strengthen data-informed decision-making across Massachusetts’ SouthCoast brings together regional expertise, mixed-methods research, and a shared commitment to equity to address the longstanding lack of accessible regional data. Centering the voices, experiences, and needs of women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals while also identifying community strengths and gaps in services and resources, the initiative aims to inform policy, guide strategic investment, and improve outcomes across the region.
Boston Women’s Fund Partnership: Greater Boston’s Grassroots Organizations Led By and For Women, Girls, and Gender Expansive Leaders of Color
A research partner to the Boston Women’s Fund, the center has completed data collection to understand the organizational, financial, leadership well-being of grassroots organizations led by and for women and gender expansive leaders of color in Greater Boston. Check out key findings released in October 2025 in advance of the release of the full report.
Boston Women’s Fund & Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy Key Findings
UMass Boston Early Education Cost & Usage Simulator Project (CUSP)
Led by Early Education Leaders, an Institute at UMass Boston, and Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, the UMass Boston CUSP Project has developed a statistical model to produce estimates of key impacts of proposed legislation in Massachusetts to expand access to affordable, quality childcare and early education.
Contact
For more information about the center’s research agenda, activities, and/or publications, please contact Christa Kelleher, Research and Policy Director, at 617.287.5530 or christa.kelleher@umb.edu.
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Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
Healey Library, 10th Floor, Room 12
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125 USA
617.287.5541
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See Also
Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy Graduate Certificate
The center is affiliated with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy & Global Studies.