What does the evidence actually show about ranked choice voting, women’s representation, and democratic reform? This week’s Weekend Reading looks back at the research, real-world outcomes, and lessons shaping what comes next.

What does the evidence actually show about ranked choice voting, women’s representation, and democratic reform? This week’s Weekend Reading looks back at the research, real-world outcomes, and lessons shaping what comes next.

What does the evidence actually show about ranked choice voting, women’s representation, and democratic reform? This week’s Weekend Reading looks back at the research, real-world outcomes, and lessons shaping what comes next.

This week’s Weekend Reading explores a central insight from RepresentWomen’s work: women can reach leadership in many ways, but without structures that distribute power, protect safety, and reward collaboration, that leadership remains fragile.

The latest edition includes reflections on the 2026 election landscape, upcoming events, and key RepresentWomen updates — all grounded in the belief that durable progress requires intentional systems design.

As we begin 2026, RepresentWomen looks back at the research, stories, and moments that shaped women’s political representation in 2025, and what they reveal about how systems, not chance, drive progress toward parity.

This week’s Weekend Reading looks at the introduction of the Ranked Choice Voting Act in Congress, Elieen Higgins' historic mayoral win in Miami, Florida, and so much more. 

This week’s Weekend Reading blends heartfelt reflections on community and gratitude with key updates on women’s representation: a new Fulcrum op-ed, global efforts to combat violence against women in politics, Miami’s historic mayoral runoff, and new momentum for ranked-choice voting in 2028. Plus, a special thank-you to the partners powering this movement.

This week's Weekend Reading highlights Abigail Adams, Margaret Atwood, youth voting rights, insights on global governance, bipartisan bridge-building, and reforms advancing gender-balanced leadership across sectors. 

Highlights from this week’s Weekend Reading: insights from the Reykjavík Global Forum, new data on global confidence in women’s leadership, 2025 election takeaways, structural reforms advancing gender parity, and stories of women reshaping democracy.

Historic firsts, new leadership, and a “pink wave” that’s reshaping democracy — this week, we celebrate the women and systems driving lasting change.

Today's elections will offer a glimpse into the future of American democracy — not just in who wins, but in how the systems that shape our elections determine who gets to lead. From the governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey to mayoral contests in cities across America, these elections reflect a nation still grappling with the unfinished business of representation.

The story of women’s political power in the United States remains one of uneven progress. According to RepresentWomen’s 2025 Gender Parity Index, half the country still earns a “D” grade for women’s representation, with the national average score at just 27.7 out of 100. While three states — New Hampshire, Oregon, and Maine — have finally reached gender parity, progress elsewhere has stalled or slipped backward. The U.S. now ranks 78th in the world for women serving in national legislatures, trailing well behind nearly all of its global peers in NATO and the G-7.

This is not a matter of symbolism. It is a crisis for democracy.

When women are missing from decision-making tables, policy often becomes narrower, less collaborative, and less reflective of the issues that shape families’ daily lives. Without a fair share of women in leadership, democracies grow more fragile, vulnerable to extremism, gridlock, and authoritarian drift. A system that sidelines half the population cannot credibly claim to be representative.

And yet, these elections demonstrate that change is not only possible but also measurable, if we understand what drives it.

At the state level, new milestones are within reach. Currently, only 12 women serve as governors — eight Democrats and four Republicans. That number could rise to a record-tying 14 depending on the outcomes of the races in Virginia and New Jersey. In Virginia, either Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears or Democratic former Representative Abigail Sanberger will become the state’s first woman governor; and in Earle-Sears’s case, the nation’s first Black woman governor. In New Jersey, Representative Mikie Sherrill could become the state’s first Democratic woman governor and the nation’s first woman military veteran governor to hold that office — a distinction she might share with Earle-Sears if both win. Ghazala Hashmi seeks to be the first Asian American and Muslim to win statewide in Virginia in the election for Lt. Governor.

These outcomes would represent far more than individual milestones. They could also shift both states’ Gender Parity Index scores, moving Virginia and New Jersey — both long stuck at “D” grades — closer to parity for the first time in decades. RepresentWomen’s projections show that electing a woman governor in Virginia could raise the state’s parity score by as much as ten points, moving it into “C” territory. Should New Jersey also elect Sherrill, it could see similar or greater gains, improving its standing for the first time since 2003. These shifts demonstrate a critical truth: when women gain ground in statewide executive offices, parity becomes more attainable across the board.

At the local level, the momentum continues to build. Women are on the ballot for mayor in 13 of the nation’s 100 largest cities — from Detroit to Miami to Jersey City and St. Paul — with many poised to break new ground as the first women or women of color to lead their cities. In Detroit, Mary Sheffield is favored to become the city’s first woman mayor. In Albuquerque, if Mayling Armijo wins she would become the city’s first woman and the first Latina mayor. Eileen Higgins is vying to be Miami’s first woman mayor, and Jersey City’s Joyce Waterman the first woman elected as mayor. Boston mayor Michelle Wu is cruising to reelection, while Katie Wilson is slightly favored to win in Seattle.

And in cities using ranked choice voting (RCV), women are not just running — they’re winning. Across the country, 14 cities and counties in seven states are using ranked choice voting (RCV) on Election Day. The reform allows voters to rank candidates by preference, reducing vote-splitting, eliminating “spoiler” dynamics, and encouraging coalition-building, which, in turn, helps women and candidates of color compete on equal footing.

We’ve already seen the power of RCV in action. RepresentWomen’s research shows that RCV cities elect more women and sustain more diverse representation over time. New York City’s RCV elections transformed its city council from just 13 women members to a supermajority of 31 out of 51 — the largest women-led legislative body in the country. Cities such as Minneapolis and St. Paul have also seen similarly inclusive results, with women now leading councils, mayoral offices, and campaigns defined more by issue coalitions than personal attacks. These local shifts prove what our research has shown globally: when election systems are designed to include, representation follows.

In today’s elections, RCV will play a key role in competitive mayoral contests in places like Santa Fe and Fort Collins, where open mayoral seats and crowded fields make inclusive systems especially consequential. And in Maryland’s Greenbelt, voters are weighing an advisory measure on adopting RCV — part of a broader national trend, with RCV winning 30 of the last 31 times it has appeared on municipal ballots. 

While these races are promising and signal a positive sentiment toward reform, the broader data is sobering and illustrates we still have far to go. Women still make up only 28 percent of Congress, 24 percent of governors, 34 percent of state legislators, and 25 percent of mayors in major U.S. cities. Republican women remain outnumbered by Democratic women nearly two to one. Women of color and young women are still vastly underrepresented, negating any sense of parity being inevitable. And without systemic reforms to level the playing field, gains remain fragile and fleeting.

For too long, efforts to achieve parity have focused narrowly on preparing individual women to run. That work is necessary, but not sufficient. We cannot train our way out of structural imbalance. We must also redesign the systems themselves — the rules, incentives, and frameworks that determine who can rise to power.

That’s the work we’re advancing at RepresentWomen: turning data into design and research into reform. The Gender Parity Index provides the map and the systems strategies like ranked choice voting, proportional representation, and modernized legislative practices (such as more flexible hours, better pay and better security) provide the path. Together, they show that parity doesn't happen by chance; it happens by design. 

Every election tells a story about power — who holds it, who’s excluded from it, and how it changes hands. This Election Day, that story is about more than candidates. It’s about whether we are ready to build a democracy designed for parity — one where women’s leadership isn’t exceptional, but expected.

As Election Day approaches, stories of courage, reform, and women’s leadership remind us that change is always by design.

From Iceland’s 1975 women’s strike to global milestones in Japan, Bolivia, and beyond — this week’s Weekend Reading explores how balance by design drives equality.

From Athens to Louisiana, women are shaping the fight for democracy. As global leaders convene to defend democratic values, and the U.S. Supreme Court reconsiders the Voting Rights Act, women’s voices remain central to the struggle for representation and equality.

In Ms. Magazine’s new podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward, Cynthia Richie Terrell joins Carmen Rios to discuss gender balance and democracy reform.

On Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams interviews RepresentWomen’s Cynthia Richie Terrell on ranked choice voting, Electoral College reform, and pathways to parity.

This week we gathered as a team, celebrated our wins, and reflected on the power of convenings — from Beijing 1995 to today — to move women’s equality forward.

Women leaders at UNGA 80, Mexico’s historic independence cry, Nepal’s first woman prime minister, and more.

Remembering the women who served on 9/11, confronting rising political violence, and preparing for Voter Registration Day. 

Day One of the 2025 Democracy Solutions Summit explored how local governments act as laboratories of democracy. Leaders discussed women’s pathways to power, the impact of systemic barriers, and how ranked choice voting helps women win.