My first book, Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX's Policy Design Undermines Change to College Sports (co-authored with James Druckman), is published with Cambridge University Press.
The book identifies institutional roadblocks – including sex-based segregation, androcentric organizational cultures, and overbearing market incentives – that undermine efforts to achieve systemic change. Drawing on surveys with student-athletes, athletic administrators, college coaches, members of the public, and fans of college sports, it highlights how institutions shape attitudes toward gender equity policy. It offers novel lessons not only for those interested in college sports but for everyone seeking to understand the barriers that any marginalized group faces in their quest for equality.
Listen to our interviews with the New Books Network and the Talking Title IX and College Sports Podcast.
The book has been reviewed in Choice Reviews of the American Library Association, the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, Sociology of Sport Journal, Administrative Theory & Praxis, and is featured at Good Authority.
Awards:
-- 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association
-- 2024 Gladys M. Kammerer Award for the best book on U.S. national policy from the American Political Science Association
-- 2024 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award.
My alma mater, the University of Minnesota, profiled the work here.
You can find my scholarship on my ScholarWorks page and on Google Scholar.
My solo-authored work analyzes how American political institutions grapple with inequities in educational settings, and how policy design and implementation matter for social change.
Using archival data and quantitative data, I explore how policy battles over the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 shifted social and political understandings of sex and gender, as well as the intersecting understandings of race, sexuality, class, and physical ability. I argue that battles over the implementation and meanings of the law’s application to athletics have recursively altered political meanings of sexed bodies as well as political repertoires of gender. In addition to a book manuscript (provisionally titled, Allowed to Play but Not to Win: Title IX and the Political Constructions of Sex and Gender in Public Policy), I have published several articles from this research.
I have also published co-authored scholarship regarding 1) gender and politics in the United States, 2) the contemporary politics of college athletics, 3) the politics of fatherhood, and 4) the controversies over the use of Native American mascots and symbols in professional sports.
The Politics of Exclusion: Lessons from Transgender Participation in College Sports (with James Druckman). Book manuscript, under contract with Cambridge University Press.
Druckman, James and Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2023. Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX's Policy Design Undermines Change to College Sports. New York: Cambridge University Press.
** 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title, American Library Association
** 2024 Gladys M. Kammerer Award for the best book on U.S. national policy, American Political Science Association
** 2024 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award
** 2022 Best Paper Award from the American Political Science Association, Education Politics & Policy section (Draft Chapter)
Reviewed in Choice Reviews, Administrative Theory & Praxis, the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, and the Sociology of Sport Journal
Rice, Laurie, Elizabeth Sharrow, and Valerie Martinez-Ebers. 2025. "From Public Engagement to Civically Engaged Research." Politics, Groups, and Identities. doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2025.2463076.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2023. "Public Policy as Trans Harm: Troubling Administrative Governance through Transfeminist Sports Studies." TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly 10(2): 100-115. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-10440748.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2021. “Sports, Transgender Rights, and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy.” Laws 10(3): 63. doi: 10.3390/laws10030063.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2021. “Sex Segregation as Policy Problem: A Gendered Policy Paradox." Politics, Groups, and Identities 9(2): 258-279. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2019.15688.
**Recipient, 2021 Politics, Groups, and Identities Best Article Award from the Western Political Science Association
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Melinda Tarsi, and Tatishe Nteta. 2021. “What’s in a Name? Symbolic Racism, Public Opinion, and the Controversy over the NFL’s Washington Football Team Name.” Race and Social Problems 13(2): 110-131. DOI: 10.1007/s12552-020-09305-0.
Druckman, James and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2020. "Public Opinion, Crisis, and Vulnerable Populations: The Case of Title IX and COVID-19." Politics & Gender 16(4): 1084-1092. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X20000446.
Rhodes, Jesse, Elizabeth Sharrow, Jill Greenlee, and Tatishe Nteta. 2020. “Just Locker Room Talk? Explicit Sexism and the Impact of the Access Hollywood Tape on Electoral Support for Donald Trump in 2016." Political Communication 37(6): 741-767. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2020.1753867.
Featured twice in the Washington Post.
Jill Greenlee, Tatishe Nteta, Jesse Rhodes, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2020. “Helping to Break the Glass Ceiling? Fathers, First Daughters, and Presidential Vote Choice in 2016.” Political Behavior 42(3): 655–695.
Featured at the Monkey Cage Blog at the Washington Post.
Featured at the blog of the Women's Sports Foundation
Greenlee, Jill and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2020. “The Politics of Parenthood: Attitudes, Behavior, Policy, and Theory.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science, ed. Sandy Maisel. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mia Costa, Tatishe Nteta, Jesse Rhodes, Jill Greenlee, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2019. “Family Ties? The Limits of Fathering Daughters on Congressional Behavior." American Politics Research 47(3): 471-493.
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Jesse Rhodes, Tatishe Nteta, and Jill Greenlee. 2018. "The First Daughter Effect: The Impact of Fathering Daughters on Men’s Preferences for Gender Equality Issues." Public Opinion Quarterly 82(3): 493-523.
Featured in the New York Times.
Featured at the Monkey Cage Blog at the Washington Post.
Featured in the Boston Globe
Druckman, James, Jacob Rothschild, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2018. "Gender Policy Feedback: Perceptions of Sex Equity, Title IX, and Political Mobilization Among College Athletes." Political Research Quarterly 71(3): 642-653.
Featured at the Gender Policy Report at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Featured in a Scholars Strategy Network Research Brief
Featured at the blog of the Women's Sports Foundation
Featured at the USAPP (American Politics and Policy) blog of the London School of Economics
Nteta, Tatishe, Elizabeth Sharrow, and Melinda Tarsi. 2018. “Burying the Hatchet?: Elite Influence and Public Opinion on the Washington Redskins Controversy.” Social Science Quarterly 99(2): 474-489.
Featured at the Monkey Cage at the Washington Post.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2017. “'Female Athlete' Politic: Title IX and the Naturalization of Sex Difference in Public Policy." Politics, Groups, and Identities 5(1): 46-66.
Reprinted in Body Politics, First Edition, eds. Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon, chap. 3. New York: Routledge.
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Dara Strolovitch, Michael Heaney, Seth Masket, and Joanne Miller. 2016. “Gender Attitudes, Gendered Partisanship: Feminism and Support for Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton among Party Activists.” Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy 37(4): 394-416.
Featured at Vox's Mischiefs of Faction
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2025. “Intersex and Trans Athletes: Who Gets to be a Female Athlete?” In Reimagining the Gendering of Sport, eds. Vikki Krane and Tanya Prewitt-White.
Rose, Deondra, Elizabeth Sharrow, Kathryn Whetten, Sara LeGrand, Sofia Girvin, Dominique Karesh, and A.C. Keesler. “Title IX and Equity in Higher Education." In Handbook on Education Policy Research, 2nd Edition, eds. Lora Cohen-Vogel, Janelle Scott, and Peter Youngs, 1547-64. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2023. “How High School Sports Became the Latest Battleground over Transgender Rights.” In The Conversation on Gender Diversity, ed. Jules Gill-Peterson, 226-30. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schultz, Jaime, Anna Baeth, Anne Lieberman, Lindsay Parks Pieper, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2023. “The Future of Women’s Sports Includes Transgender Women and Girls.” In Justice for Trans Athletes: Challenges and Struggles, eds. Ali Greey and Helen Lenskyj, 17-30. Bingley, WA: Emerald Publishing.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2020. “A ‘Bridge to our Daughters’: Title IX Fathers and Policy Development.” In Stating the Family: New Directions in the Study of American Politics, eds. Julie Novkov and Carol Nackenoff, 127-63. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Jesse Rhodes, Tatishe Nteta and Jill Greenlee. 2020. “Fatherhood, First-daughters, and the First Woman Presidential Candidate.” In The Hillary Effect: Perspectives on Clinton's Legacy, eds. Ivy Cargile, Denise Davis, Jennifer Merolla, and Rachel VanSickle-Ward, 131-36. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Ellen Staurowsky, and Bridgette Davis. 2024. Play to Lead: The Generational Impact of Sports on Women's Leadership. Women's Sports Foundation.
Brown, Nadia, James Druckman, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2023. "How Title IX is Undermining College Sports." Good Authority (October 26, 2023).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2022. “Title IX’s interpretation has reshaped athletics in good and bad ways.” Made by History, The Washington Post. (June 20, 2022).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2022. “Title IX at 50: Remarkable Progress, Much Work to Do.” Women’s Media Center. (June 16, 2022).
Staurowsky, Ellen, Courtney Flowers, Erin Buzuvis, Lindsey Darvin, and Natalie Welch (Policy recommendations authored by Elizabeth Sharrow, pp. 64-74). 2022. “50 Years of Title IX: We’re Not Done Yet.” East Longmeadow, NY: Women’s Sports Foundation.
Sharrow, Elizabeth and Isaac Sederbaum. 2022. “Texas isn’t the only state denying essential medical care to trans youths. Here’s what’s going on.” Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (March 10, 2022).
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Jaime Schultz, Lindsay Pieper Parks, Anne Lieberman, and Anna Baeth. 2021. “States are still trying to ban trans youths from sport. Here's what you need to know.” Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (July 26, 2021).
Baeth, Anna, Anne Lieberman, Lindsay Pieper Parks, Jaime Schultz, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2021. “The Future of Women’s Sports Includes Transgender Women and Girls.” A research statement from Athlete Ally and affiliated scholars. (July 14, 2021).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2021. “Five states ban transgender girls from girls’ sports. But segregating sports by sex hurts all girls.” Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (April 16, 2021).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2020. “How high school sports became the latest battleground over transgender rights.” The Conversation. (December 22, 2020).
Reprinted widely, including in the Houston Chronicle, the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, Curve Magazine, Yahoo Sports, among others.
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2020. “Pitting men’s and women’s sports against each other at the U is wrong.” Minneapolis Star Tribune. (December 8, 2020).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2020. “Equity During Crisis? Blaming Title IX Won’t Help.” The Gender Policy Report. Minneapolis, MN: Center on Women, Gender and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. (November 16, 2020).
Sharrow, Elizabeth, James Druckman and Jacob Rothschild. 2019. “Nearly 50 years on, Title IX’s implementation means that student athletes are aware of and want to tackle gender inequalities in athletic opportunities.” London School of Economics’ USAPP-American Politics and Policy blog, LSE’s United States Centre. (May 10, 2019).
Brown, Nadia, Melissa Michelson, Elizabeth Sharrow, and Dara Strolovitch. 2019. “Virginia Democrats’ political problems show us why intersectionality is so important.” Washington Post Outlook. (March 4, 2019).
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Jill Greenlee, Jesse Rhodes and Tatishe Nteta. 2018. "Title IX Through Their Daughters Eyes: First Daughters and Public Opinion Toward Gender Equality Policies ." Women’s Sports Foundation. (November 29, 2018).
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Jill Greenlee, Jesse Rhodes and Tatishe Nteta. 2018. "Here’s how female candidates can sway fathers’ votes — if their first child is a daughter." Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (November 3, 2018).
Nteta, Tatishe, Jill Greenlee, Jesse Rhodes, and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2018. “Yes, Stephen Curry is right. Having a daughter does change men’s political outlooks – but only if she’s firstborn.” Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (September 14, 2018).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2018. “Why it is Time to Take Seriously the Political Power of Women College Athletes.” Scholars Strategy Network Brief. (May 30, 2018).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2018. “Taking Women College Athletes Seriously in the Political Arena.” The Gender Policy Report. Minneapolis, MN: Center on Women, Gender and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. (May 8, 2018).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2018. “College Athletes: Politically aware and prepared to mobilize on gender inequalities, new study finds.” Women’s Sports Foundation. (March 23, 2018).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2017. “Social Inequalities and the Politics of Sports in America.” Scholars Strategy Network Brief. (December 1, 2017).
Sharrow, Elizabeth, Tatishe Nteta, and Melinda Tarsi. 2017. "What would change public opinion on whether the Redskins' name is offensive?" Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post. (July 11, 2017).
Sharrow, Elizabeth. 2017. "Papers for the present: Government archives and remembering the past." Parameters: Social Science Research Council Digital Culture Program. (June 21, 2017).
Sharrow, Elizabeth and Michael Heaney. 2016. “Democrats and Republicans are as divided about gender discrimination as they are about everything else.” Vox’s Mischiefs of Faction (July 18, 2016).
Kenney, Sally J., Kathryn Pearson, Debra Fitzpatrick and Elizabeth Sharrow. 2009. “Are We Progressing Toward Equal Representation for Women in the Minnesota Legislature? New Evidence Offers Mixed Results.” Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Reporter 39: 39-47.
My Scholars Strategy Network profile is available here: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/scholar/elizabeth-sharrow