In both the United States and Mexico, 2018 has been called “the year of the woman,” an inspiring phrase based on the surges of female political activism across the globe. Despite using the same battle cry, the electoral landscapes for women in the two countries are drastically different: according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s measurement of women’s representation in parliament, the US ranks 102nd internationally, while Mexico ranks a striking 9th. Such an incredible gap cannot be simply explained by only one factor; however, Mexico’s mandatory gender quotas for political parties, along with a combination of proportional and winner-take-all districts, are indelibly crucial components, offering insightful lessons for visibly urgent change in the US.

Mexico has a history of legal support for parity in politics, but their most comprehensive and successive initiative has been the 2014 law requiring parties to ensure that 50% of candidates are female. Now, four years later, 42.5% of the lower house of Congress is female, an astounding number on par with Scandinavian countries. For contrast, the percentage of women in the US House of Representatives is not even 20%.

Claudia Sheinbaum, the first elected female mayor of Mexico City         

Photo Credit: Express UK

#WomenToWatch is a series by RepresentWomen that documents rising women leaders and their stories.

Alabama holds primary runoff elections on July 17th, and Republicans will vote for their Lieutenant Governor nominee alongside a few House races. Women are few and far between in Alabama politics — Alabama receives a D in this year’s Gender Parity Index — but not so in this year’s race for governor and lieutenant governor. Kay Ivey, the Republican gubernatorial incumbent, won her primary handily and is a heavy favorite to win reelection in the deep-red state. The upcoming Republican primary runoff will decide if Twinkle Cavanaugh, the President of the Public Service Commission of Alabama and former chairwoman for the Alabama Republican Party, will appear with Ivey on the November ballot.

Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz, Getty

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, rose to the national stage by repeatedly challenging the Trump administration over its emergency response. Cruz later was named on the 100 Most Influential People List of 2018 by TIME. In a glowing article accompanying her placement on the list, Puerto Rican-born actor Benicio del Toro described Cruz as a “voice of the disenfranchised citizens.” Between Cruz and Guamanian Representative Madeleine Bordallo, who has spoken up about the threat her territory faces from North Korea’s nuclear program, women politicians from the U.S. territories are making a splash in the news. These women are boldly standing up for their communities and people are taking notice. Beyond the headlines, women politicians are still woefully underrepresented in the territories.

Photo: Scott Heins/Getty

All primary results from the New York Times.

This Tuesday saw primaries in five states -- New York, Maryland, Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma** -- and runoff elections in Mississippi and South Carolina. Dozens of women ran for their party’s nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as for statewide elected offices like Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. Currently, women are drastically underrepresented in Congress (20 percent) and in statewide elected office (23 percent).

#WomenToWatch is a series by RepresentWomen that documents rising women leaders and their stories.

In our first installment of #WomenToWatch, we are highlighting the stories of three women who will be on the ballot this Tuesday: Aruna Miller (MD), Connie Johnson (OK), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY).

​Democratic nominee for governor of Maine - Janet Mills

Mayor Muriel Bowser at Town Danceboutique, Darrow Montgomery/Washington City Paper

On Tuesday, June 19th, D.C. held primary elections for mayor, city council, and non-voting delegate to the U.S. House. In the reliably Democratic District, the primary invariably determines the outcome of the general election. The most exciting race was not the actual election, but rather a ballot initiative extending D.C.’s $15 minimum wage to tipped workers, which passed by 55 percent approval. The primary elections for executive office and city council, in which all incumbents won their bid at re-election, shed light on gender and racial representation in the District’s government.

Members of the EU Women Caucus

An April 2018 study titled “Women and corruption: What positions must they hold to make a difference?” found that corruption is lower in countries with more women in office at both the national and local level. The authors suggest that this is because women legislators often champion policies that address poverty, education, and healthcare at a greater rate than men, and have been found to be “more concerned about whether subsidies were provided to the targeted group without corruption.”