Bio

Christine Min Wotipka is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology and Director of the Master’s Programs in International Comparative Education (ICE) and International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA) at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is Co-Resident Fellow and Co-Founder of EAST House -- the Equity, Access, & Society Theme House.

Dr. Wotipka’s research contributes to the comparative scholarship in gender, diversity, leadership, and higher education and has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Social Forces, Sociology of Education, Gender & Society, Sociological Forum, and Comparative Education Review.

Before joining the faculty at Stanford in 2006, Dr. Wotipka was a visiting assistant professor/global fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she proudly served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in rural northeast Thailand and worked in the Republic of Korea at an economic research firm. Among Dr. Wotipka’s professional activities, she has consulted on girls education policies for the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan.

Dr. Wotipka earned her BA (summa cum laude) in International Relations and French at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and MA in Sociology and Ph.D. in International Comparative Education at Stanford University.

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Director, ICE/IEPA Master’s Programs, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University (2007 - Present)
  • Director, Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stanford University (2012 - 2016)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, Committee on Residential Learning (2023 - Present)
  • Co-Chair, Gender and Education Committee, Comparative and International Education Society (2022 - Present)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Journal of Integrated Social Sciences Research and Analysis, Women University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Bagh (Pakistan) (2022 - Present)
  • Co-Founder and Co-Resident Fellow, Equity, Access, & Society Theme (EAST) House (2021 - Present)
  • Faculty Affiliate, Center for South Asia (2021 - Present)
  • Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Leland Scholars Program (2021 - Present)
  • Member, Inclusion Council, Graduate School of Education (2021 - Present)
  • Member, Junior Experience Working Group, Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs (2021 - Present)
  • Member, Board of Advisors, The Barbara Henry Courage in Teaching Award (2021 - Present)
  • Member, Executive Committee, Public Policy Program (2020 - Present)
  • Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice (2019 - Present)
  • Member, Stanford Faculty Senate (Committee on Committees, 2019-20 and Steering Committee, 2020-2021) (2019 - 2021)
  • Co-Chair and Member, Human Rights Section Membership Committee, American Sociological Association (2018 - Present)
  • Member, Advisory Council, Gender and Education Standing Committee, Comparative and International Education Society (2018 - 2022)
  • Consultant, Girls Education Policy, Ministry of Education, Afghanistan (2018 - 2019)
  • Expert Advisor, “Educating for the Future” for the Yidan Prize Foundation, the Economist Intelligence Unit (2018 - 2019)
  • Member, International Relations Committee, American Educational Research Association (2017 - 2020)
  • Member, Board of Directors, The Stanford Faculty Club (2016 - Present)
  • Member, Editorial Board, Sociology of Education, an official journal of the American Sociological Association (2015 - 2018)
  • Member, Core Affiliated Faculty Committee, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University (2014 - Present)
  • Member, Program Committee, Asian American Studies, Stanford University (2013 - Present)
  • Member, Faculty Advisory Council, Program on Social Entrepreneurship, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University (2011 - Present)
  • Member, Program Committee, Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
  • Co-Founder and Co-Resident Fellow, Education and Society Theme (EAST) House (2010 - 2021)
  • Member, Steering Committee, Faculty Women’s Forum, Stanford University (2010 - 2016)
  • Resident Fellow, East Asian Studies Theme (EAST) House (2006 - 2010)

Program Affiliations

  • Center for Human Rights and International Justice
  • Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
  • Public Policy

Professional Education

  • PhD, Stanford University, International Comparative Education
  • MA, Stanford University, Sociology
  • BA, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, International Relations & French (summa cum laude)

Contact

  • Academic
    cwotipka@stanford.edu
    University - Faculty Department: Graduate School of Education Position: Associate Professor (Teaching

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 3096
  • Profile:
    Gender and Education; International Comparative Education; Sociology of Education; Higher Education; Research Methods
  • SUNet ID(s):
    Christine.Min.Wotipka
    Christine.Wotipka
    cwotipka
  • ORCID:
    https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4931-0854

Links

Research Interests

  • Civic Education
  • Diversity and Identity
  • Gender Issues
  • Higher Education
  • International and Comparative Education
  • Research Methods
  • Sociology

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Christine Min Wotipka is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology and Director of the Master’s Programs in International Comparative Education (ICE) and International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA) at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Wotipka’s research contributes to the comparative scholarship in gender, diversity, leadership, and higher education and has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. Her articles have appeared in Social Forces, Sociology of Education, Sociological Forum, Gender & Society, American Journal of Education, AERA Open, Journal of LGBT Youth, Comparative Education Review, Compare, Comparative Education, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, International Sociology, and Globalisation, Societies and Education.

Having served as co-Resident Fellow at EAST House since 2006, Dr. Wotipka co-founded the Education and Society Theme (EAST) House—a living-learning space for undergraduates interested in education research, policy, activism, and teaching—in 2010. In 2021–2022, EAST House broadened its theme to become the Equity, Access, & Society Theme House.

In addition to the applied research methods seminars she leads for her master’s students, Dr. Wotipka also teaches “Gender and Education in Global and Comparative Perspectives” and “Gender and Higher Education: National and International Perspectives” -- courses cross-listed in Education, Sociology, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

From 2012–2016, Dr. Wotipka served as Director of the Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stanford University and currently serves on its Program Committee. Dr. Wotipka is affiliated with numerous programs and centers on campus, including Asian American Studies, the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, the Center for South Asia, and the Public Policy Program.

Before joining the faculty at Stanford in 2006, she was a visiting assistant professor/global fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she proudly served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in rural northeast Thailand and worked at an economic research firm in the Republic of Korea. Among her professional activities, Dr. Wotipka has consulted on girls education policies for the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan.

Dr. Wotipka earned her BA (summa cum laude) in International Relations and French at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and MA in Sociology and Ph.D. in International Comparative Education at Stanford University.

Projects

  • Gender, Diversity, and Leadership: Trends and Explanations, Stanford University

    We are conducting a series of longitudinal studies to examine the mechanisms that predict when and to what extent different dimensions of diversity are institutionalized in higher education cross-nationally and in the United States. Outcomes of interest include leadership positions and institutionalized structures and policies specifically attentive to historically marginalized groups whose rights remain contested, including women, sexual minorities, and racially minoritized groups.

    We ground our work in sociology’s neo-institutional school of thought, leveraging theories of organizational behavior and global cultural isomorphism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Meyer et al., 1997). Our approach enables us to theorize mechanisms at levels of the institution, institutional environment, and national context. Such perspectives have been useful in examining cross-national changes related to women’s status and higher education participation (Lerch et al., 2022), gender and STEM (Lee et al., 2021), LGBT rights (Velasco, 2018), and postsecondary institutions for Indigenous peoples (Cole, 2011).

    Moreover, we conceptualize HEIs as institutions influenced by cultural and professional norms beyond functional interests, making visible the tensions HEIs may face as both locally-bounded and globally-embedded institutions. Given the role of HEIs at the confluence of movements both for and against diversity and liberal norms (Schofer et al., 2018), it is increasingly urgent to understand how HEIs do or do not institutionalize diversity-supportive structures or support diverse leadership.

    Our overarching research question investigates the factors that influence the timing for the adoption of diversity-supportive features and policies in cross-national higher education institutions. Our primary research questions are as follows: What institution- and environment-level features predict a) the first installation of a woman president in the university? b) the first introduction of gender/sexuality studies? c) the first establishment of a STEM association for women? d) the first establishment of an Indigenous-supportive policy or structure, broadly defined?

    Using the data we collect will allow us to answer the following sub-questions: Are public universities more committed to these diversity-supportive features? Does the selectivity or prestige of the university matter? Will universities adopt the diversity-supportive features more readily when their peer institutions adopt them? How does a country’s level of economic and political development matter? To what extent are country- and organization-level factors associated with the features of interest?

    Ultimately, our research aims to make visible the mechanisms that predict changes in diversity to inform future policy and research seeking to protect the rights and improve the higher education experiences of historically marginalized groups against the illiberal movements that threaten them.

    Location

    Stanford Graduate School of Education

    Collaborators

    • Daniel Scott Smith, Graduate School of Education
    • Hannah D'Apice, Graduate School of Education
    • Jieun Song, Ph.D. Student in Education, Graduate School of Education
    • Nooran Chharan, Ph.D. Student in Education, admitted Autumn 2021, Graduate School of Education
    • Risa Ninomiya, Graduate School of Education
  • Diversity-Supportive Features of Higher Education Institutions

    Location

    Stanford University

  • Cross-National Analyses of Gender and Tertiary Degree Graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, 1998–2018, Stanford University

    Location

    Stanford, CA

    Collaborators

    • Seungah Lee, Visiting Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Social Research and Public Policy, New York University Abu Dhabi
    • Francisco Ramirez, Stanford University
    • Jieun Song, Ph.D. Student in Education, Graduate School of Education

2024-25 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • To STEM or not to STEM: A cross-national analysis of gender and tertiary graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math, 1998-2018 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY Lee, S. S., Wotipka, C., Ramirez, F. O., Song, J. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.1177/00207152241243343

    View details for Web of Science ID 001208794700001

  • A milestone in the pursuit of gender equality: Predicting first women presidents in U.S. higher education institutions, 1980–2018 Sociology Compass D'Apice, H. K., Song, J., Wotipka, C. M. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.1111/soc4.13204

  • Armed conflict, student achievement, and access to higher education by gender in Afghanistan, 2014-2019 GLOBALISATION SOCIETIES AND EDUCATION Darwish, S., Wotipka, C. 2022

    View details for DOI 10.1080/14767724.2022.2115340

    View details for Web of Science ID 000843073900001

  • Women's participation and challenges to the liberal script: A global perspective INTERNATIONAL SOCIOLOGY Lerch, J. C., Schofer, E., Frank, D., Longhofer, W., Ramirez, F. O., Wotipka, C., Velasco, K. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1177/02685809211060911

    View details for Web of Science ID 000729506200001

  • "Participation Does Not Equal Voice": Gendered Experiences in an Academic and Professional Society COMPARATIVE EDUCATION REVIEW Anderson, E. W., Vanner, C., Wotipka, C., Kelly, K. 2021; 65 (3): 534-554

    View details for DOI 10.1086/715115

    View details for Web of Science ID 000660122700001

  • CER Moderated Discussion on "'Participation Does Not Equal Voice": Gendered Experiences in an Academic and Professional Society COMPARATIVE EDUCATION REVIEW Wotipka, C., Anderson, E. W., Vanner, C., Kelly, K. 2021; 65 (3): 555-572

    View details for DOI 10.1086/714990

    View details for Web of Science ID 000660123200001

  • A Cross-National Analysis of Women Graduates with Tertiary Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, 1998–2018: Commonalities and Variations Gender Equity in STEM in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Policy, Institutional Culture, and Individual Choice Lee, S. S., Wotipka, C. M., Ramirez, F. O. Routledge. 2021: 13-26
  • The status and agency of children in school textbooks, 1970–2012: a cross-national analysis Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education Wotipka, C. M., Svec, J., Yiu, L., Ramirez, F. O. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1080/03057925.2021.1976621

  • Cross-National Variation in School Reopening Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic AERA Open Hoffman, K. S., Torres, M. B., Wotipka, C. M. 2021; 7 (1)

    View details for DOI 10.1177/23328584211010180

  • Effect of LGBT anti-discrimination laws on school climate and outcomes for lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students Journal of LGBT Youth Fields, X., Wotipka, C. M. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1080/19361653.2020.1821276

  • Students’ Understanding of the History of American Slavery: Differences by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender. The Social Studies Gross, M. H., Wotipka, C. M. 2019; 110 (5): 220-236

    View details for DOI 10.1080/00377996.2019.1630348

  • Mothers’ gendered aspirations for their children: a case study of Forbesganj, Bihar Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education Sharma, G., Wotipka, C. M. 2019; 49 (3): 358-374

    View details for DOI 10.1080/03057925.2017.1412252

  • The Making of a Human Rights Issue: A Cross-National Analysis of Gender-Based Violence in Textbooks, 1950-2011 Gender & Society Russell, S., Lerch, J. C., Wotipka, C. M. 2018

    View details for DOI 10.1177/0891243218786686

  • Global linkages, the higher education pipeline, and national contexts: The worldwide growth of women faculty, 1970–2012 International Journal of Comparative Sociology Wotipka, C. M., Nakagawa, M., Svec, J. 2018; 59 (3): 212-238

    View details for DOI 10.1177/0020715218780475

  • The Worldwide Expansion of Early Childhood Care and Education, 1985–2010 American Journal of Education Wotipka, C. M., Rabling, B. J., Sugawara, M., Tongliemnak, P. 2017; 123 (2): 307–339

    View details for DOI 10.1086/689931

  • The rise, removal, and return of women: gender representations in primary-level textbooks in Afghanistan, 1980–2010 Comparative Education Sarvarzade, S., Wotipka, C. M. 2017; 53 (4): 578-599

    View details for DOI 10.1080/03050068.2017.1348021

  • The Worldwide Incorporation of Women and Women's Rights Discourse in Social Science Textbooks, 1970-2008 COMPARATIVE EDUCATION REVIEW Nakagawa, M., Wotipka, C. M. 2016; 60 (3): 501-529

    View details for Web of Science ID 000380375600004

  • International Students in Chinese Higher Education: Choices, Expectations, and Experiences by Region of Origin Global Perspectives and Local Challenges Surrounding International Student Mobility Hu, C., Wotipka, C. M., Wen, W. IGI Global. 2016: 153–178
  • Learning from the Experiences of Women of Color in MentorNet’s One–on–One Program Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering Muller, C. M., Blake-Beard, S., Barsion, S., Wotipka, C. M. 2012; 18 (4): 315-335

    View details for DOI 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2013004006

  • History Transformed? Gender in the World War II Narratives in U.S. History Textbooks, 1956–2007 Femnist Formations Schrader, C. E., Wotipka, C. M. 2011; 23 (3): 68–88

    View details for DOI 10.1353/ff.2011.0037

  • Globalization, citizenship, and education: the rise and spread of cosmopolitan, multicultural, and individual empowerment frames REVISTA PERUANA DE INVESTIGACION EDUCATIVA Ramirez, F. O., Meyer, J. W., Wotipka, C. 2009; 1 (1): 163–80

    View details for Web of Science ID 000420573000007

  • Global Human Rights and State Sovereignty: State Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties, 1965-2001 96th Annual Meeting of the American-Sociological-Association Wotipka, C. M., Tsutsui, K. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2008: 724–54

    View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1573-7861.2008.00092.x

    View details for Web of Science ID 000262947900004

  • “Women’s Studies as a Global Innovation.” The Worldwide Transformation of Higher Education Wotipka, C. M., Ramirez, F. O. edited by Baker, D. P., Wiseman, A. W. Elsevier JAI Press. 2008; 1
  • WOMEN'S STUDIES AS A GLOBAL INNOVATION WORLDWIDE TRANSFORMATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Wotipka, C., Ramirez, F. O., Baker, D. P., Wiseman, A. W. 2008; 9: 89–110

    View details for DOI 10.1016/S1479-3679(08)00004-2

    View details for Web of Science ID 000270969700005

  • “World Society and Human Rights: An Event History Analysis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.” The Global Diffusion of Markets and Democracy Wotipka, C. M., Ramirez, F. O. edited by Simmons, B. A., Dobbin, F., Garrett, G. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.. 2008
  • “A Transnational Analysis of the Rise and Institutionalization of Women’s Studies.” Revista Española de Sociología Wotipka, C. M., Ramirez, F. O., Díaz Martínez, C. 2007; 17: 35-59
  • World society and human rights: an event history analysis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women GLOBAL DIFFUSION OF MARKETS AND DEMOCRACY Wotipka, C., Ramirez, F. O., Simmons, B. A., Dobbin, F., Garrett, G. 2007: 303–43

    View details for Web of Science ID 000305015400008

  • “The Worldwide Diffusion of Professional Management Education.” Globalization and Organization: World Society and Organizational Change Moon, H., Wotipka, C. M. edited by Drori, G. S., Meyer, J. W., Hwang, H. Oxford: Oxford University Press.. 2006: 121–136
  • Global civil society and the international human rights movement: Citizen participation in human rights international nongovernmental organizations SOCIAL FORCES Tsutsui, K., Wotipka, C. M. 2004; 83 (2): 587-620

    View details for Web of Science ID 000226428700007

  • “Human Rights: Women’s Rights.” New Dictionary of the History of Ideas Wotipka, C. M. edited by Horowitz, M. C. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.. 2004
  • “Women in Science: For Development, For Human Rights, For Themselves.” Science in the Modern World Polity: Institutionalization and Globalization Wotipka, C. M., Ramirez, F. O. edited by Drori, G. S., Meyer, J. W., Ramirez, F. O., Schofer, E. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. . 2003: 174–195
  • Slowly but surely? The global expansion of women's participation in science and engineering fields of study, 1972-92 SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION Ramirez, F. O., Wotlpka, C. M. 2001; 74 (3): 231-251

    View details for Web of Science ID 000170240700004

  • “Understanding Racial Polarization on Affirmative Action: The View from Focus Groups.” Color Lines: Affirmative Action, Immigration and Civil Rights Options for America Swain, C. M., Greene, K. R., Wotipka, C. M. edited by Skrentny, J. D. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. . 2001: 214–237
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4931-0854