The Challenge
Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, yet the majority of elected and appointed positions in government are held by men.
Political insiders control who gets recruited to run for office, partisanship and winner-take-all voting often determines who wins, and antiquated legislative rules impact who can serve and lead.
The problem isn't just convincing more women candidates to run for office. The problem is there are structural and institutional barriers that limit women's odds of success at every stage of the electoral process.
The Solutions
To advance women's representation and leadership in the United States, we need to complement existing candidate-centric practices with innovative systems strategies.
Electing more women to government will strengthen our democracy by making it more representative, reviving bipartisanship and collaboration, improving policy outcomes, encouraging a new style of leadership, and cultivating trust in our elected bodies.
Women Running
Recruitment targets for political parties so more women run.
Women Winning
Ranked choice voting for executive & legislative offices so more women win.
Women Serving
Modern rules like onsite childcare so more women can serve effectively.
Women Leading
Rankin Chisolm Rule for political appointments & hiring so more women lead.
Our Signature Research
Through research and advocacy, RepresentWomen is paving the way for women in American politics to Run, Win, Serve and Lead. To learn more about our signature research, please consult the following:
Get Involved
New from RepresentWomen
Weekend Reading on Women's Representation October 15, 2021
Posted on October 15, 2021
Each week brings a new reminder that when there is not an intentional effort to ensure that women are nominated for positions & awards the male status quo fills the void.
Read MoreWeekend Reading on Women's Representation October 8,
Posted on October 08, 2021
Women face steep barriers when running for executive offices in the United States so it is no surprise that of the 2,573 people who have served as governor in U.S. history only 45 have been women and only 9 women are currently in office. Liz Crampton wrote an interesting piece this week in Politico about efforts by both major parties to increase the number of women in statewide executive office:
Read MoreWeekend Reading on Women's Representation October 1, 2021
Posted on October 02, 2021
I recently asked a friend of mine why she thought there were so few women in politics. Her response was that it’s probably because politics just isn’t the place for women, that it’s more of a “man thing.” Recent research in the American Political Science Review reveals that these beliefs don’t exist by accident...
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