Dear readers,

Each week brings a perplexing quandary for me - there is so, so much to report on about women's international representation and efforts to expand women's representation in the United States but there are also many projects/events/deadlines encroaching on my time that prevent me from doing an adequate job reporting on it all! My time is short again this week but here are a couple highlights!

The New York Times published portraits of 130 of the 131 women serving in the 116th Congress  - there was a nice piece in the Times describing the process and another great piece in Coieter by Bibi Deitz that captures the impact:

In a perfect world, Congress would have way more women and we wouldn’t be applauding the fact that they comprise almost a quarter of the House and Senate. But—baby steps. This term, women comprise close to 25 percent of Congress, which is still not enough, but it’s a good start.

Ms. Pelosi, surrounded by her grandchildren and the children of other members of Congress, on her first day as speaker in 2007. CreditStephen Crowley/The New York Times Read the full story

My name is Maryama Thiam, the daughter of immigrants from Senegal, a sophomore at Chesapeake Math and IT Academy, and the secretary of a non-profit organization, “Mothers Of Africa.” Despite attending a Math and IT school, my true passion is law and politics. As a child of immigrants from Africa, my household is always full of political debates. Even at a young age, my parents allowed me to listen to their debates and sometimes join in. I always enjoyed giving my opinion and having facts to back it up.

It has been a great week for progress toward gender parity!

(Mary Hughes and I met to conspire at the Claremont Hotel and soaked in this incredible sunset)

Dear friends,

Good evening friends! 

This week’s missive will be a photo essay of sorts & an invitation! I am on the Pacific coast meeting with election reform advocates. The room is filled with mostly men who have gathered in this beautiful spot to discuss the voting system reforms that are electing more women to office in the US & around the globe.