Michelle Rosmalen researches gender differences in political ambition development among adolescents. Her PhD-project is part of Educational Sciences and Political Science.

The research aims to provide more insight into the rise of the gender gap which leads to an unequal political representation among adults. During adolescence, individuals first develop the ambition to work in politics later, it is in this period that the first gender differences start to rise. Using data from the Dutch Adolescent Panel on Democratic Values (ADKS: https://adks.nl/) she maps the beginning of these differences and how these differences develop over the course of adolescence. Furthermore, she researches the possibility of a role-model effect in altering these gender differences.

The research is funded by the Dutch organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).