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 June 17, 2022
Posted on June 17, 2022
In March of 2022 RepresentWomen hosted a Democracy Solutions Summit featuring women experts speaking on a wide range of challenges facing our nation including election administration, campaign finance, voting rights, the Electoral College, antiquated voting rules, and fair representation.
Read MoreWeekend Reading on Women's Representation June 10, 2022
Posted on June 11, 2022
In contrast to the recent setbacks for gender balance on corporate boards in California, officials in the European Union decided this week to require that an "underrepresented gender" fill at least 40% of non-executive board seats by July 1, 2026.
Read MoreWeekend Reading on Women's Representation June 3, 2022
Posted on June 03, 2022
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX that prohibited sex-based discrimination in any educational program that receives financial support from the federal government. Adoption of Title IX has increased opportunities for women and girls in academic settings but there has been mixed success for women & girls in sports according to this story in FiveThirtyEight by Neil Paine:
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