Elise Maiolino 

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Elise is a feminist sociologist, specializing in gender, intersectionality, and Canadian politics. She earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Arts in Women's Studies and Feminist Research from Western University. Elise has taught courses in Gender, Politics, and Society; Race, Class, and Gender; and Qualitative Research Methods at the University of Toronto. Her research has been published in the Canadian Review of Sociology. 

Elise's work has investigated the extent to which identity matters in Canadian electoral  politics at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the candidacies and leaderships of three politicians—Justin Trudeau, Olivia Chow, and Kathleen Wynne. It examined the ways in which gender, race, sexuality, and other salient aspects of politicians’ identities are strategically negotiated and mobilized by politicians, political actors, the media, and the grassroots. The project engaged broadly with qualitative methods—discourse analysis, media analysis, participant observation, and interviewing. 

Elise's research contributes to understandings of: (1) the durability of masculinity in Canadian electoral politics; (2) dispositional requirements for leaders; (3) the compensatory labour that minority politicians perform; and (4) alignments and allegiances between politicians and grassroots movements.

Elise currently works as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.