2026 Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award

• In Event: 2026 AERA Awards Ceremony and Luncheon

Abstract

The recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award is Dr. Lara Perez-Felkner. A nationally respected scholar of higher education and sociology, her research demonstrates how identity and institutional contexts shape educational opportunity. Across her career, her scholarship has transformed the study of gender equity in STEM, pushing the field beyond one-size-fits-all frameworks to reveal discipline-specific patterns of participation and inequity, and offering compelling longitudinal evidence of how disparities emerge and compound across STEM pathways. Through sustained field-building service, generous mentorship, and leadership that consistently elevates others, she has helped set, and continually raise, the agenda for what gender equity research in education can and should accomplish.

Authors

• Lara Perez-Felkner, Florida State University

• Francesca López, University of Wisconsin - Madison