Celebrate Ranked Choice Voting Day with RepresentWomen

A live conversation centering the women and gender-diverse people powering reform

RepresentWomen is excited to mark Ranked Choice Voting Day with a special live webinar focused on the people who make this reform possible.

On Thursday, January 22, from 1–2 PM EST, we’ll gather virtually to celebrate RCV Day by uplifting women leaders working on the front lines of the ranked choice voting movement. Our guests will include organizers, educators, coalition builders, and advocates who are helping this reform take root in communities across the country.

Rather than focusing on technical implementation, this conversation centers on the human side of reform — how ranked choice voting reshapes campaign culture, strengthens coalition-building, and creates more inclusive pathways to leadership. We’ll also explore why RCV remains one of the most powerful systems strategies for advancing women’s representation and ensuring that leaders earn majority support.

Our goal is to center voices that are too often left out of formal policy conversations, despite being essential to the movement’s success, and to engage participants in a thoughtful, interactive discussion about where this work is headed next.

REGISTER HERE

What Is Ranked Choice Voting Day?

Ranked Choice Voting Day is an annual moment held every year on January 23rd (1, 2, 3) to celebrate a proven, people-powered reform that strengthens democracy by giving voters more choice and candidates a fairer path to office.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, ensuring winners earn majority support while reducing vote-splitting and negative campaigning.

At RepresentWomen, we celebrate RCV Day because how we vote shapes who runs, who wins, and who leads — and RCV is one of the most effective systems reforms for advancing women’s political representation.

Why RepresentWomen Supports Ranked Choice Voting

Our research shows that women — especially women of color — face structural barriers in winner-take-all elections that discourage them from running and limit their chances of winning.

Ranked choice voting helps change that by:

• Reducing the spoiler effect, so multiple women can run without being told to “wait their turn”

• Encouraging coalition-building, not zero-sum competition

• Lowering campaign costs by eliminating costly runoff elections

• Shifting campaign tone, reducing negative attacks that disproportionately harm women candidates

• Expanding voter choice, which benefits communities historically excluded from political power

RCV is not a silver bullet, but it is a powerful part of the systems-level change needed to reach gender-balanced governance.

Visit our Ranked Choice Voting website page to learn more! 

Online harassment is not just a social media problem; it’s a systems failure that shapes who runs, who stays, and who leads. This piece examines how digital violence disproportionately impacts Black women in politics, operates as a structural barrier to women’s political power, and outlines the reforms needed to build safer, more equitable pathways to leadership as we head into a critical election cycle.

When we were invited to write about women who ran for the American presidency, we quickly realized how scattered the information was. The stories were extraordinary, but far too hard to find.

That experience sparked the idea for this planner.

We wanted a place that makes women’s leadership visible: celebrating milestones, honoring birthdays, and lifting up the women who shape our democracy.

Today, this planner reflects RepresentWomen’s belief in Women’s Power by Design — that representation grows when we build systems and tools that center women’s contributions. This work also comes to life each year through our Democracy Solutions Summit, the only national reform convening that centers women experts and elevates solutions for a more representative democracy.

As you move through these pages, we invite you to consider one question: 

How might our democracy change if we designed our systems with women’s leadership in mind, and what role might you play in that story this year?

We’re proud to share the 2026 edition as a celebration of the women who came before us, the women inspiring us now, and the women who will lead us into the future.

We hope you all have a fantastic 2026!

VIEW THE COMPLETE PLANNER HERE

The D.C. Council voted to move forward with the on-time implementation of ranked choice voting for the 2026 elections, honoring the clear mandate delivered by voters. RepresentWomen is encouraged to see this commitment to democratic integrity upheld.

The D.C. Council is voting tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, on a last-minute attempt to delay the implementation of ranked choice voting (RCV), despite the fact that nearly 73% of DC voters approved it last year. Here's what you need to know. 

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 Supreme Court case Louisiana v. Callais could reshape the Voting Rights Act and threaten hard-won progress toward equal representation. RepresentWomen explores what’s at stake for women — especially Black women — and why protecting the Voting Rights Act remains essential to building a truly representative democracy.

Across the United States, women remain underrepresented in every level of government. Winner-take-all elections reward incumbency, polarize communities, and lock out new voices — especially women, people of color, and independents. These rules don’t just shape outcomes; they shape who feels welcome to run in the first place.

Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV) offers a proven alternative. By combining the fairness of proportional outcomes with the accessibility of ranked choice ballots, PRCV ensures that nearly every voter helps elect someone they support. The result is leadership that better reflects our communities — and new opportunities for women to run, win, and lead.

PRCV isn’t just an idea. It has a long history in the United States, helped elect the first women to city councils in major cities, and continues to deliver diverse representation in Cambridge, MA today. And with Portland, Oregon, implementing the largest PRCV elections in modern history, the momentum is growing.

At RepresentWomen, we champion PRCV because it is the gold standard reform for building a gender-balanced democracy in our lifetimes.

Read our 2025 Parity in Portland, Oregon, Report

Our democracy works best when everyone has a seat at the table. But under winner-take-all elections, too many voices are shut out — especially women, people of color, and independent voters.

Proportional representation offers a proven solution. Instead of one winner per district, multiple representatives are elected in proportion to the votes cast. This simple change opens the political process to more women and underrepresented candidates, fosters diverse coalitions, and reduces the polarization that hinders progress.

Proportional ranked choice voting, used around the world and gaining momentum in the U.S., is the gold standard for delivering on this promise. It levels the playing field and moves us closer to gender-balanced governance in our lifetimes.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a powerful reform that transforms the way we vote, changing who runs, who wins, and who leads — and increasing women’s political power. Across the country, RCV is breaking down barriers and creating new opportunities for women and diverse leaders to represent their communities.

Under our current system, too many voters feel their voices don’t count. Candidates can win with far less than majority support, women and people of color are often told to “wait their turn” to run for office, and campaigns become increasingly divisive and costly. These structural barriers hinder progress toward gender parity and prevent the government from accurately reflecting the people it serves.

RCV is a proven solution. By eliminating vote-splitting, rewarding coalition-building, and empowering voters to rank candidates in order of preference, RCV creates fairer, more inclusive elections. It strengthens democracy while leveling the playing field for women and underrepresented candidates — and it’s already reshaping leadership and governance in places like Alaska, Maine, and New York City.

Explore our interactive dashboard to see where RCV is already making an impact across the U.S.:

infogram_0_f45a9b75-7958-4bcd-b51b-adb30abd22e42022 RCV Dashboardhttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?wyMtext/javascript

This National Voter Registration Day, we’re reminded that the Virtuous Cycle of Change starts with participation — and to get in the spirit of change, don’t forget to watch the new version of Majority Rules!

Parity starts with participation — are you ready for Voter Registration Day?

At the Council on Foreign Relations, RepresentWomen’s Cynthia Richie Terrell joins Linda Robinson to discuss why women’s political progress is stalling worldwide — and the structural reforms needed to strengthen democracy.

Tracking Women’s Political Representation Across the United States

For over a decade, RepresentWomen’s Gender Parity Index (GPI) has measured progress toward gender‑balanced governance in all 50 states. Explore the latest scores, see how your state ranks, and learn what it will take to achieve true parity.

Since 2013, the GPI has provided an annual snapshot of women’s political representation across national, state, and local offices. Each state receives a score (0–100), a letter grade, and a ranking to track progress over time.

Now in its 12th year, the GPI shows a clear truth: progress is slow, uneven, and easily reversed without intentional reforms. No state has reached “perfect parity,” and women — especially women of color — remain underrepresented at every level.

This page serves as your hub for the latest GPI findings, past reports, and resources to bring the conversation to your community.

Why the GPI matters (at a glance)

The numbers below show the gap — and the systems solutions that move the needle.

2025 Gender Parity Index Map 

How did your state score on the GPI? Check the map below to track your state's progress. 

Key Findings 

Invite Us to Present the Gender Parity Index

Want to bring the GPI to your organization, campus, or community? Our team can present the latest findings, walk through the methodology, and discuss actionable strategies to advance women’s representation.

Request a Presentation

Looking Back: The Launch of the GPI in 2013 

The Gender Parity Index was first introduced in 2013 at an NYU panel moderated by RepresentWomen’s founder, Cynthia Richie Terrell. More than a decade later, the concerns raised then remain urgent today — underscoring the consistency, longevity, and continued relevance of the GPI.

Listen in to learn how the Gender Parity Index began — and how its origins continue to shape the data behind today’s 2025 report.

Explore Past Gender Parity Index Reports

The Gender Parity Index has been tracking women’s representation across the United States for over a decade. Each year builds on the last, offering a clearer picture of where progress is happening — and where barriers remain.

Check out the most recent past editions below to see how the conversation has evolved leading up to the 2025 report.

Stay in the loop

Want to keep up with the latest on women’s representation? Make sure to sign up for our email updates! You’ll get:

• Thought Leadership — our new weekly thought leadership newsletter (launching soon) from the RepresentWomen team.

• Spotlight storytelling — features on organizations, states, and women leaders driving change.

• Invitations to events — join conversations and actions that move the needle for women’s representation.

• Weekend Reading — Cynthia Richie Terrell’s popular Friday roundup of news and insights.