Political scientist Lena Wängnerud awarded the Riksdag Medal

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“It feels very honouring. I was completely surprised—I didn’t even know this award existed. I am particularly pleased to be recognised for the combination of research and more popular science outreach, such as the publications I have produced celebrating the introduction of universal and equal suffrage,” says Lena Wängnerud.

The Speaker’s decision states

“Lena Wängnerud is Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg. Her research focuses on issues of political representation, gender, and corruption. Through her research on women’s representation in the Riksdag, she has made highly meritorious contributions to the understanding of women’s opportunities for power and influence, and of the significance of gender for the content of the political process. Her doctoral studies of female members of parliament’s committee representation and policy preferences were groundbreaking for understanding women’s role and importance in parliamentary work.

In addition to her research, Lena Wängnerud has participated in several collaborative projects within the Riksdag aimed at disseminating knowledge about, among other things, women’s suffrage. Important outcomes of this work include the publication The Right to Vote, issued during the Riksdag’s 75th anniversary of universal and equal suffrage, and the anthology A Century of Suffrage, for which she served as one of the editors, published by the Riksbank’s Jubilee Fund in connection with the Riksdag’s democracy jubilee 2018–2022, marking the centenary of universal and equal suffrage.”