Dr Andrea Carson is a political scientist and a Professor of Political Communication in the department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Her research focuses on gender, politics and the media. She has authored numerous books and articles on Australian politics, election campaigns and female representation in politics.

Andrea is a member of La Trobe University’s Council. She is also an inaugural council member of the Victorian Government’s Equal Workplace Advisory Council that advises government on achieving gender equity in the workplace. Recognising her leadership in academia, she is a finalist in the Australian Financial Review’s ’emerging higher education leader’ awards 2023.

Her leadership in research includes as a chief investigator on three nationally competitive Australian Research Council grants to study the pathways to politics for women in local government (2020-2024), trust in media and politics (2022-2027), and government policy responsiveness (2018-2021). She has written three books on media and politics, including as co-editor and author of Australian Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge University Press).

Prior to academia, Andrea was a professional journalist at The Age and ABC. She founded the 2022 election podcast ‘Below The Line’ with The Conversation and is a regular expert commentator in the news media.

WLIA Fellows