Beyond the Ballot Box | Kate Lonie | TEDxGoodenoughCollege

It is frequently thought that politics is not young people’s game. Why is that? Politics governs important aspects of our well being, quality of life and our future, so why are not younger generations interested in it? Or aren’t they? What is the missing link between young generations and politics? In this talk, Kate Lonie will give us some answers to these questions, coming from her original research on why particularly younger women do not engage in politics, and does that mean that they are apolitical.

Kate Lonie is a second-year PhD candidate in the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney. Inspired by the 2013 media attention afforded to former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, as well as the coverage of the death (also in 2013) of former UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, her doctoral research aims to explore the relationship between contemporary political media coverage and the nature of the media and political engagement of young women in both the UK and Australia. Prior to this, she completed a Master of Science in Gender, Media and Culture at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Professionally, Kate has also had significant experience in the fields of consulting and higher education, having worked as a Research Assistant at a number of major Australian universities. She has also had extensive experience as both a Mentor and Tutor to high school and undergraduate students.