Finally, a reason to post a photo from the Trevi Fountain in Rome which graces this story from the London School of Economics and Political Science on how gender quotas are being used with success to diversify corporate boards in Italy:

Overall our results support the idea that not only gender quotas contribute to women’s empowerment, they may also encourage a better selection mechanism through the entry of qualified women. In countries such as Italy, dominated by a male gerontocracy, where boards of directors were not necessarily populated by the most competent and most qualified people for the job (Bianco et al., 2015), the introduction of gender quotas induces a beneficial restructuring of the boards, which is positively received by the market.

Dear all,

Some food for thought to distract us from the madness of this election season...

The Christian Science Monitor had a very interesting piece entitled How Women Lead Differently - a subject that I suspect will be getting more attention in the coming months. The topic always gives me pause, while it may be that women and men do have different leadership strengths I resist the trend toward thinking that it's (finally) time to elect women because they have special problem solving skills. Lots more could be said on this - particularly in the context of this election season.

Photo from a piece by Ashley Parker from Glamour that reviews some of the women who are shaping the 2016 election.

Dear friends,

Sophia Tesfaye had a piece in Salon on the challenges republican women face running for and getting elected to Congress:

For more than a decade, the number of Republican women in Congress has remained roughly stagnant. The share of Democratic women — now nearly 33 percent — has continued to climb, while the Republican female share has leveled off since hitting 10 percent during the mid-2000s. Currently there are just 22 women in the Republican caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats have 62 women in the House.

Christianna Silva had a piece on FiveThirtyEight this week entitled "Don't Hold Your Breath For Gender Parity in Congress - It Could Take Another 100 Years." The rate of change in women's representation in Congress is misleading because the most progress has been made in the states that ranked the lowest.

Stories like these confirm the need for new strategies to elect women across the political and geographic spectrum if we are to win parity in our lifetimes!

Elle did a great piece last week about women leaders around the world and the role that they have played shaping the debate on many different topics - there is no question that strong women leaders of all political persuasions are seeking and winning elected office - but we have a long way to go until the United States is a leader on parity.

Emerge America launched a terrific campaign this week #WhySheRuns to highlight the many women who are running for office - please consider helping to spread the word about their new video or make your own WhySheRuns video!

Dear allies for parity,

I am sure many of you may have helped with the launch of IGNITE's new video and #DeclareYourAmbition campaign to ensure that our daughters and our friends' daughters are motivated to participate in the political process at every level. While the launch this week was very successful I hope that you will help the fabulous team at IGNITE National by sharing the link to the video with the #DeclareYourAmbition hashtag.

Dear all,

One of the most widely-shared stories this week was this one from the Washington Post that reflects on the role of women staffers in the White House and how they have helped to 'amplify' the voices of their colleagues - changing norms through example...

The atmosphere has changed considerably in Obama’s second term. Many of the original players have moved on. Today, Obama’s closest aides — the ones who sit in the 7:30 a.m. meeting and earn the top White House salary of $176,461 a year — are equally divided between men and women. Overall, the average man still earns about 16 percent more than the average woman. But half of all White House departments — from the National Security Council to the Office of Legislative Affairs — are headed by women.

Dear all,

“If we get a government that reflects more of what this country is really about, we can turn the century -- and the economy -- around.” - Bella Abzug

Today marks the 45th annual Women’s Equality Day, decreed by a joint resolution of Congress in 1971. August 26th holds a special significance in the fight for women’s equality for multiple reasons, all of which contributed to lifting women up in the United States. Most historically, on August 26th, 1920, the 19th Amendment was signed into effect by the Secretary of State, following ratification by two-thirds of states. The 19th Amendment, after a nearly 100 year fight, affirmed that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Happy Women's Equality Day,

Time Magazine commemorated Women's Equality Day with a great graphic that illustrates the current representation of women - it won't surprise any of you but we have a long way to go!