Blog and OpEd Library

By Research Associate Marvelous Maeze Priestley Johnson speaking at the 2024 Girl Up USA Leadership Summit RepresentWomen is committed to increasing the representation of women at all levels of government, recognizing that the seeds...

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation 9/25/2024 Dear Readers,  Saturday, September 21, 2024, was the Autumn Equinox- officially the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. The weather is getting colder, the leaves are...

Dear Readers, With just 45 days until Election Day, voters across the country are receiving their mail ballots or preparing to cast their votes in person on Tuesday, November 5th. This week, we celebrated...

Author: Katie Usalis

Dear Readers, As summer comes to a close, I am reflecting on the last few busy months for the RepresentWomen team – we released the 2024 Gender Parity Index and Salaries of State: Modernizing...

Dear Readers, This upcoming Monday is Labor Day, marking the unofficial end of summer for many of us. The holiday's origins are much more than a simple day off. Established as a holiday in...

  Dear Reader- What a fantastic few days at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago! I, along with Communications Director Ashley Thurston, State Partnerships Manager Tamaya Dennard, and Outreach Manager Alissa Bombadier Shaw,...

  Dear Readers, What an exciting week! Vice President Kamala Harris has officially announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Earlier this year, Governor Walz signed the Minnesota Voting Rights Act (MNVRA) into...

Dear Readers, I am incredibly excited to announce that RepresentWomen’s 2024 Gender Parity Index is now live! This marks the 11th year of this project, which is close to my heart. Our dedicated research...

Dear Readers, This past weekend, I was filled with renewed optimism for our democracy. President Biden passed the torch to Vice President Harris. Now, it’s her turn to make history! Since being endorsed by...

This week has been challenging for our country. In the coming months leading up to the November elections, my earnest wish is for the safety and stability of our democracy,and for our nation to...

Dear Readers, This week, the RepresentWomen team attended Netroots Nation, an annual conference that draws up to 4,000 attendees from around the world! Attendees include politicians, online organizers, grassroots activists, and independent media creators....

Dear Readers, Our commitment to building women’s political power continues as we find sustainable solutions to systemic challenges. This week, we published Salaries of State: Modernizing State Legislatures through Compensation Commissions, a report examining...

Dear Readers,  As the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and the days grow longer, RepresentWomen prepares to welcome one of nature's most enchanting events: the Summer Solstice, marking the official beginning...

Dear Readers, Summer brings a wave of possibilities, and at RepresentWomen, we're feeling the excitement! We're seeing a historic rise in women winning international elections, proving that global strategies can offer valuable lessons. Stay...

Dear Readers, This week was filled with celebration with Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory kicking off the festivities. We are thrilled to witness another woman ascending to the presidency, amplifying the increased need for women Heads...

Authors: Georgina De La Fuente and Fatma Tawfik On June 2, over 60% of registered Mexican voters went to the polls for a historic election, with over 20,000 public offices up for grabs at...

Dear Readers, This past week, I was honored to be included in Washingtonian Magazine’s listof the “Top 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy”. I'm humbled by this recognition, and inspired by the incredible partners...

Dear Readers, Politics is heating up as we get closer and closer to fall, so we have a full edition for you this week - including a collaboration RepresentWomen did with Cosmopolitan magazine!  First...

Dear Readers, Happy Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother’s Day Weekend! Whether in the classroom or at the dinner table, women have made remarkable contributions to our daily lives. RepresentWomen pays tribute to the women...

 Dear Readers, Happy May, Friends! This month brings us endless possibilities, warm sunshine, and a refreshing sense of hope.  This week, I had the opportunity to attend the always-inspiring 18th annual Young Women to...

Dear Readers, This month's 60th birthday celebration and long-awaited vacation were wonderful and filled me with a renewed passion for change. Witnessing the state of our democracy, both domestically and internationally, compels me to keep...

Dear Readers, Earth Day is just around the corner! It's a time to celebrate our planet, reflect on how we can be better stewards, and build a future for our children and their children....

Dear Readers, This week was filled with love and support as I celebrated my 60th birthday! I was overwhelmed by the well wishes and support from my loved ones, close friends, and allies in...

Dear Readers, Melinda French Gates once said, “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman." By this definition, Cynthia Richie Terrell is a woman who uses her voice to amplify the...

Katie Usalis serves as RepresentWomen's partnerships director. In this role, Katie focuses on developing and overseeing program strategies that activate and equip changemakers to advance structural solutions to the representation crisis in U.S. politics. ...

Dear Readers, As Spring is upon us, I am excited about renewed momentum for our work. We are still celebrating the re-introduction of the Fair Representation Act, as we know this will lead us...

Dear Readers, This week, we celebrated the re-introduction of the Fair Representation Act. I joined my friends, Rashad Robinson (CEO of Color of Change), Lisa Rice (director of Make all Vote Count, DC), Paul...

Dear Readers, Women’s History Month continues, and we honor extraordinary women who pave the way for an equitable democracy. RepresentWomen continues to celebrate the success of our Democracy Solutions Summit, where women experts from...

{{recipient.first_name_or_friend}} -- Happy International Women’s Day! This week, I am so inspired by the brilliance of women worldwide. It only reinforces the daily reminder that women are changing humanity. Our knowledge, desire to challenge...

Dear Readers,  Happy First Day of Women’s History Month! RepresentWomen celebrated the Women’s Power Collaborative, gaining its 100th member this week. The members represent approximately 90 organizations nationwide, including advocates, academics, and elected officials....

Every election cycle, we find ourselves asking the same questions: why are so few women in office? How do we close the representation gap? And how can we include more women in the work...

Dear Readers, RepresentWomen is celebrating Black History Month by highlighting Black women's critical role in ensuring a balanced democracy. We're excited to share our new brief, Breaking Barriers for Black Women Candidates, which dives...

I’ll never forget what another Black woman serving in elected office told me in the aftermath of a traumatic, racist experience I encountered almost one year ago today. During a crying phone call, she...

Dear Readers, I have deep respect and admiration for many democracy reform advocates, I believe the movement must expand to include the voices of more women to build a truly resilient and reflective democracy....

Dear Readers, As we celebrate the opening of Black History Month, we want to highlight the phenomenal contributions of Black women who have fought for equality, representation, and justice. We honor these trailblazers, from...

Dear Readers, Last week’s staff convening wasn’t just productive, it was electrifying. As we crisscrossed the DMV, delving into the vibrant scene of DC’s landmarks, a profound sense of purpose was reinforced. As we...

Dear Readers, This week, our staff had the opportunity to work in person leading up to our Woman Mayors' Network Reception yesterday! In addition to prepping for the reception, we gathered to develop and...

Dear Readers, We’re only two weeks into 2024, and we already have so much news surrounding women’s representation. Last week, we focused on the 2024 elections and voting systems. While advocating for greater female...

Dear Readers, Happy New Year! 🎉 While we were opening presents and counting down to midnight, the news on women in politics did not stop. Here, we kick off the biggest global election year...

Dear Readers, We have officially reached the end of the year! At RepresentWomen, 2023 has been a remarkable year full of exciting projects and initiatives. So, hit play on your favorite empowerment anthem because it's time...

Dear Readers, It’s hard to believe the end of 2023 is right around the corner! With the holiday season in full swing, the RepresentWomen team had a lovely time hosting our virtual holiday party...

By Nora Weiss   On December 1st, 2023, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passed away at the age of 93, leaving behind an empowering and formidable legacy. Across the political aisle, Sandra...

Dear Readers, The festive melodies are in the air, and the holiday spirit is settling in, but at RepresentWomen, there's no pause in the pursuit of progress toward building women's political power. Despite the...

This month, RepresentWomen released our Oceania Region Country Brief, which examines women’s representation at all levels of government in Oceania’s 14 countries. This brief analyzes system reforms, such as voting systems and gender quotas,...

Dear Readers, It’s hard to believe December is here. I hope you are staying warm and feeling a bit of joy and hopeful anticipation this holiday season. This week, I was reading through Forbes'...

Dear Readers, As autumn leaves gracefully bow out, the RepresentWomen Team reflects on what we are grateful for. To all who have stood with us, believed in our cause, and supported the creation of...

Dear Readers, The results are in! In the aftermath of last Tuesday's elections, a resounding chorus of success echoes through the political landscape, underscored by the impactful role of ranked choice voting (RCV) in advancing...

By Alissa Bombardier Shaw and Steph Scaglia For the past five years, RepresentWomen has been building up our research on reforms and policies that lead to increased and sustained women’s representation in elected office....

Dear Readers Happy Election Week! This past Tuesday, Americans voted in the general election to make their voices heard. RepresentWomen has been monitoring key elections, particularly those that utilize ranked choice voting, all around...

Dear Readers, This week, millions in the U.S. and abroad celebrated Halloween by dressing up, eating candy, and getting into the spooky spirit! Ghosts and goblins may haunt the streets on Halloween night, but...

Dear Readers, This week, the RepresentWomen team released a new brief titled “Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV): Promoting Fair Elections and Removing Barriers for Women in U.S. Politics,” as well as a Timeline outlining...

Dear Readers, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep's words remind us about the structural barriers women face in politics and society:   “Women have lived in the house of men all their lives. We can speak the...

Dear Readers, This week, RepresentWomen released a new brief! We are committed to identifying the best ways to increase women’s political representation, drawing from evidence worldwide. Part of our work leads us to closely...

Dear Readers, This week, the National Organization for Women (NOW) unveiled a new podcast called "Feminism NOW," led by NOW's National President, Christian F. Nunes. The podcast will tackle contemporary feminist issues such as...

Dear Readers, Senator Diane Feinstein, a trailblazing woman leader, died today at the age of 90. We remember and celebrate her courage and tenacity. Feinstein was the first woman mayor of San Francisco, the...

Dear Readers, This Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day. Despite the recent increases, voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election was just 66% according to the Pew Research Center. While voting is essential, a huge factor...

Dear Readers, This week's Weekend Reading is designed to provide an update on our work as we celebrate our 5th anniversary as an independent, non-profit, non partisan organization. RepresentWomen (then Representation2020) started as a...

Dear Readers, As the U.S. Open draws to a close, it's important to acknowledge its role in advancing gender equality. In his article, Scott Allen highlights how tennis icon Billie Jean King championed women's representation by voicing her frustration...

Dear Readers, A Time Magazine essay by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf highlights the overlap between feminism and democracy. In 1971, Rep. Bella Abzug proposed that August 26th, the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, be formally recognized as...

Dear Readers, Tomorrow, August 26th, is Women's Equality Day, which marks the anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment. The Amendment gave some women the right to vote. Women of color did not get...

Dear Readers Last week, our 10th annual Gender Parity Index was released. Our longest-standing and most extensive body of work fueled some spirited and informed discussions about women’s representation in the U.S. on social media. Thank...

Dear Readers, This week the RepresentWomen team released the 2023 Gender Parity Index, an annual report outlining the status of women’s representation in the 50 states. Using data from local, state, and national office,...

  Dear Readers, Recently, Frontline featured the World Economic Forum's 17th annual Global Gender Gap report, which highlighted the significant progress needed to achieve global gender parity. The report analyzes 146 countries and finds that it will take 131 years...

Dear Readers, Last weekend two of the most highly anticipated films of 2023, Barbie and Oppenheimer, had their box office debut. The online debate about what movie to see (or what to see first) has been going on for...

  Dear Readers, This week marks the 175th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention when suffragists and abolitionists convened to ignite the movement for women's political and social equality. A number of the convention leaders...

Dear Readers, The team here at RepresentWomen focuses much of our research on identifying ways to increase women’s political representation – primarily by getting more women elected! We accept it as a given that...

Dear Readers, This week's celebration of the 247th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence is a reminder that the United States was founded on the idea that political power comes from...

Dear Readers, This Tuesday, New York City held ranked choice voting primary elections for the city council. As of June 28, preliminary results have been released – 30 women incumbents won their primaries. In...

Dear Readers, This week of June is packed with historic firsts and anniversaries. Ranked choice voting was used in Arlington County for the first time; Juneteenth and the anniversary of Title IX have all...

Dear Readers, A new article from Quartz by Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza discusses the feminist outcomes of a four-day workweek. As the concept enters mainstream white-collar jobs, more people have been reporting on the benefits they feel. The RepresentWomen staff...

Dear Readers, As Pride Month continues, RepresentWomen celebrates by exploring the intersection of gender and identity in politics and society. This week's Weekend Reading covers tragic losses, new research, and wins for women. These...

Dear Readers, Happy Pride Month! This week's Weekend Reading covers the good news and bad news surrounding women and underrepresented communities.

Dear Readers, We're almost to Memorial Day weekend! We have a variety of stories to share with you all this week, from tragic losses and continual barriers to gender-balanced representation to new court confirmations...

Dear Readers, What an amazing week for women's representation! This week's Weekend Reading features stories of women's wins and journeys to elected office in the United States and abroad. RepresentWomen will be excited to...

Dear Readers, Mother's Day is around the corner! This week, RepresentWomen features stories of women and mothers who are amazing change-makers in their fields. 

Dear Readers, Happy May! This week, RepresentWomen covers stories of women's wins and setbacks in politics and leadership.

Dear Readers, As April ends, RepresentWomen highlights current events and new findings concerning women's political representation and gender equality.

Dear Readers, Happy Friday! This week, RepresentWomen reflects on women's strides to increase representation and make a fair and safe society for us all. We have included stories this week that reflect the challenges...

Dear Readers -- As threats to women rise in the country, RepresentWomen examines the progress and setbacks women in public office face around the globe.

Dear Readers, As we continue to fight for gender parity in politics, RepresentWomen focuses on women leaders worldwide. This week's Weekend Reading features elections, systemic changes, and what they mean for women.  

Dear Readers As we continue celebrating Women's History Month this week, we focus on past and present women leaders in politics and other fields.  

Dear Readers, Last week, RepresentWomen's research team released a memo entitled “Voting Systems and Women’s Representation: Lessons from Around the World and the Case for Proportional Ranked Choice Voting in the United States.” Many...

Dear Readers -- This week, RepresentWomen hosted our second annual Democracy Solutions Summit. Thank you to everyone that attended, and a special thank you to our speakers. The fact that so many people attended...

Dear Readers, As we make last-minute preparations (less than a week left!) for our 2nd annual Democracy Solutions Summit, this week's Weekend Reading focuses on gathering and sharing stories of women running for office and...

  Dear Readers, As Black History Month comes to a close, RepresentWomen continues to highlight the state of Black women's representation in the U.S. and worldwide.

Dear Readers, As RepresentWomen reflects on the Beyond Winner Take All Conference (hosted by the Ash Center) a week later, we remember that progress in women's representation is slow going. This week's Weekend Reading highlights...

Dear Readers, A few members of the RepresentWomen team had the incredible opportunity to attend the Beyond Winner Take All Conference hosted by the Ash Center at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge this...

Dear Readers, Happy Black History Month! This month and every month, RepresentWomen works to uplift Black women leaders in every sphere. Black women and women of color are severely underrepresented, not just in politics...

Dear Readers, The nation celebrated Ranked Choice Voting Day on Monday, but every day is RCV Day at RepresentWomen! Stories from this week highlight the use of RCV in a diverse range of states...

Dear readers, Ranked Choice Voting Day is coming up on Monday, January 23rd! You may have seen that we’ve been counting down to RCV Day on our social media this week and providing some...

Dear readers, Now that the House has elected a Speaker and the members of Congress have been sworn in, we can turn our attention to the work ahead. Stories from this week show that...

Dear readers, As I am writing this, the House of Representatives is now on their 10th vote for Speaker of the House, with no single candidate receiving a majority yet. In times like this,...

Dear readers, My parents - "Philadelphia Girl" & Huntington Terrell - were married on December 30th, 1950 at the Quaker Meetinghouse in Philadelphia where my husband and I were married, as well as my...

Dear readers, It's hard to believe that we're almost at the end of 2022! Just because we're getting close to wrapping up for the holidays, though, doesn't mean news on women's representation stops.

Dear readers, Now that the Georgia Senate runoffs have finished, the election season has officially come to an end. If only GA had ranked choice voting, also sometimes called instant-runoff voting, we would have...

Dear readers, I am just back from a quick trip to NYC where RepresentWomen staffer Steph Scaglia and I attended the Relaunch Soiree for New Majority NYC. The incredible event was hosted by New...

Many of us in the United States are taking a few days to enjoy time with friends and family so this week's blog will be short on content but full of gratitude. I am...

Dear friends, It has been a tumultuous week for election results in the United States! The race for governor of Arizona that featured two women candidates running against each other was called for Katie...

Over the coming weeks, we will be transferring our extensive Blog and OpEd library to this new site. Check back for the latest in thought leadership from RepresentWomen!

Over the past week, RepresentWomen has been mentioned and featured by various publications and organizations! From op-eds written by our team to our insightful research reports, we're grateful that more and more people are...

Dear readers, There is a lot going on this week from changes in leadership in the UK & women's representation in China, to new research from VoteRunLead on women's representation in state legislatures, to...

Dear readers, As elections draw closer, I am excited to see not just the women who will come out victorious this year, but also where ranked choice voting will win. Voter registration deadlines are...

On January 25, 2011, the Egyptian people decided to revolt, as part of the Arab Spring, in protest against socio-economic inequality and political corruption. Women were a significant part of the revolution. After President...

Dear advocates for equality, In a little more than a month, we will know how many women get elected to Congress, to statewide executive offices, to state legislative seats, and to local positions across...

Dear readers, I hope you've had a great week! The primaries are now officially over, which means as of today there are just 38 days until the midterm election on November 8th. Our team...

  Dear readers, This week RepresentWomen hosted an event with women leaders in New York including The New Majority NYC Executive Director Jessica Haller, Representative Chantel Jackson from NY's 79th district, former speaker of...

Dear readers, From sports, to TV, to government; this week was chock full of updates on women's representation. The RepresentWomen team is excited to bring you all the latest news rundown while I have...

Dear readers, We here at RepresentWomen hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend! It has been quite the busy summer for women's representation and our team has been hard at work preparing...

  Dear readers, Happy Friday! We hope you have been having a lovely summer and staying cool. I'm not sure about you, but I was waiting anxiously on Wednesday night for Alaska's ranked-choice voting election...

Thanks to Erin Vilardi and her team at VoteRunLead for these great graphics and for providing a 21st century frame - and rallying call - to Women's Equality Day commemorations! Women's Equality Day was established in 1973...

Dear readers, Happy Friday! This edition is being brought to you by the RepresentWomen team, reporting on the latest in women’s representation, while Cynthia catches up on her summer reading on the beach in...

The impact of war is felt by all but disproportionately affects women and girls. In particular, the presence of armed conflict increases the prevalence of sexual violence, displacement, maternal mortality, mental health struggles, and reproductive health...

Dear readers, Happy Friday! This edition is brought to you by the RepresentWomen team, here to give you all the latest in women’s representation.

Most U.S. States Get a "D" for Women's Representation Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Many thanks to RepresentWomen research director Courtney Lamendola who worked with her terrific team to release the 2022 Gender...

174 Years of Work for Women's Equality in the United States Dear supporters of women's equality, This week marks the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention that was held over the course of several...

Best Practices for Promoting Gender Balanced Cabinets Dear fans of gender balance in politics, in anticipation of the 36 states and 3 U.S. territories that are holding gubernatorial elections this year, RepresentWomen released a report: Gender Balanced Cabinets: Where...

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson   Dear women's representation advocates, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday June, 30th, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in...

While Cynthia is away representing us at the League of Women Voters National Convention in Denver, the RepresentWomen Staff have got you covered!   From teammate to teammate, we'll give you our must-reads for...

In March of 2022 RepresentWomen hosted a Democracy Solutions Summit featuring women experts speaking on a wide range of challenges facing our nation including election administration, campaign finance, voting rights, the Electoral College, antiquated voting rules,...

"After 10 years, since the European Commission proposed this directive, it is high time we break the glass ceiling," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. [European Union, 2022]   Dear...

Ranked choice voting (RCV) is having and holding onto its moment in the US, displaying benefits ranging from extending the timeline of citizens' votes to cutting high election costs and yielding more diverse outcomes....

Stamps issued by the United States Postal Service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX   Dear fans of gender balance in politics, This month marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX that prohibited sex-based...

The water lily in my small pond blossomed this week... Dear supporters of women's leadership in politics, I struggled this week to find an appropriate story and image to lead with given the killing...

House Speaker Tina Kotek, former House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, and the well-funded unaffiliated candidate, long-time democratic lawmaker Betsy Johnson, Graphic by RepresentWomen   Dear women's representation enthusiasts, I am back in the Bay...

Dear fans of women's representation in politics, Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This week we are celebrating AAPI women leaders and exploring AAPI women's representation.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the...

Howdy from the RepresentWomen Team! Our fearless leader Cynthia Richie Terrell is making great connections to build out our research and partnerships this week at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research #PowerPlus2022 summit in San Francisco. (Cynthia thanks Nicole Mason for her...

Greta Thunberg, painted by Melanie Humble Dear fans of gender balance in politics,  The first Earth Day was celebrated 52 years ago and was intended to raise awareness about threats to the environment in the United...

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson   Dear friends of women's representation, While it has been amazing to read all the stories about the confirmation of Judge Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, Black women continue to be under-represented...

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court Dear friends of women's representation, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme...

Women now hold 61% of seats on the NY city council   Dear fans of gender balance of in politics, This week RepresentWomen hosted an event with women leaders in NYC including NY Attorney General...

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson    Dear fans of women's representation, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was a "model of composure" in the face of "egregious behavior of some...

Women speakers at the Democracy Solutions Summit Dear fans of gender balance in politics, The inaugural Democracy Solutions Summit hosted by RepresentWomen last week was a big success with 45 amazing women speakers, over 300 participants...

Women demonstrate on International Women's Day in Mexico, which has achieved gender parity in government. Karen Melo/Getty Images   Dear friends, Tuesday marked the day, each year, that is set aside to celebrate women,...

Judge Katanji Brown Jackson Dear women's representation enthusiasts, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Katanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed Judge Jackson will be the first Black...

Current women presidents and prime ministers, who are members of Women Political Leaders Dear friends, I was reminded today of Joni Mitchell's opening lyrics to California: Sitting in a park in Paris, FranceReading the news and...

Dear fans of women's representation and leadership, According to Encyclopedia Britannica about 70 of the world's 193 countries have had a female head of state. Interestingly, the United States is one of a handful of the world's...

Putin, Erdogan, and Xi with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders at the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China, September 2016 Stephen Crowley /The New York Times / Redux Dear fans of gender...

Happy Black History Month! While there are countless Black women whom we should celebrate in February, the team at RepresentWomen has chosen four to highlight this week: Shirley Chisolm began her legislative work when she was...

Based on data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, January 2022 Dear fans of gender balance in politics, While women's representation has increased slightly in state houses in Virginia and New Jersey, according to data compiled by the...

Stacey Abrams, painted by Melanie Humble Dear fans of gender balance in politics, There was an encouraging story on NBC News about the number of Black women who are running for statewide executive office in 2022,...

NY governor Kathy Hochul Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Barbara Rodriguez wrote this interesting piece in The 19th* about NY governor Kathy Hochul's proposed term limit legislation that could well provide more women the chance to run and win...

Front row (from left): Althea Stevens, Marjorie Velázquez, Lynn Schulman, Gale Brewer, Kamillah Hanks, Vickie Paladino, Sandy Nurse, Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif, and Julie Won. Middle row: Farah Louis, Joann Ariola, Linda Lee, Julie...

Dear friends, As we prepare to bid farewell to a year that has been so hard for so many it seems timely to share a few stories that offer food for thought and hope...

bell hooks, painted by Melanie Humble   For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough...

Many women around the world—as with these traders in Liberia—work in the informal economy (ImageArc/shutterstock.com)   Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Those who are concerned about the health of democracy in the...

Dear fans of women's representation,  I suspect many readers in the United States are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family this weekend so I will keep this missive short & sweet! In August my daughters and I drove to...

Dear fans of women's representation and gender balance in politics, This week has been a busy one in Washington, DC with important discussions about redistricting on Capitol Hill, in-person fundraising events with democracy advocates,...

Jeannette Rankin painted by Melanie Humble Dear fans of gender balance in politics, On November 10, 1916 Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, became the first woman elected to the United States Congress. Rankin was elected...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Nearly a century after the first woman was elected to the NYC council, women now hold 61% of the seats and the majority of those women are young women...

Greta Thunberg, painted by Melanie Humble Dear friends, Over the coming weeks advocates, experts, and elected officials will gather in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26, an annual United Nations summit on climate change. My daughter Becca Richie will be...

Dear friends, The Ascend Fund announced grants this week to groups in Washington Michigan, and Mississippi to advance women's representation in state legislatures. This is a terrific example of investing in strategies to better understand the best practices to get to...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Each week brings a new reminder that when there is not an intentional effort to ensure that women are nominated for positions & awards the male status...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Women face steep barriers when running for executive offices in the United States so it is no surprise that of the 2,573 people who have served as governor...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, We are excited to share that RepresentWomen is growing! As Cynthia is away this week, this Weekend Reading is brought to you by our team.  First up,...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Paid leave is established law in all other developed countries but families in the United States continue to struggle to care for children, parents, and loved ones...

Candidates for Boston mayor Annissa Essaibi George & Michelle Wu, Boston Globe Dear fans of gender balance in politics, The results are in from the Boston mayoral primary and two women, Annissa Essabi George and...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, In stark contrast to the new restrictive legislation in Texas, Mexico has legalized reproductive rights for women and, according to this article in The Washington Post, women have reached gender parity in...

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, The 2020 Paralympic Games are underway in Tokyo this week with impressive wins for women in many different competitions. High numbers of women competing and winning in athletics, however, does not...

Maya Angelou, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Warren, Fannie Lou Hamer, Condi Rice, Coretta Scott King, Ashley Judd, Tina Tchen, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Shirley Chisholm, Michelle Obama, Tammy Duckworth Dear fans of gender...

Sharon Nelson, Kathy Hochul & RepresentativeCarolyn Maloney Dear friends,  News of the tragedy unfolding in Haiti, the rise of the Delta variant, and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan dominate the headlines this week but...

Dear fans of women's representation, The winners of the Equality Can't Wait Challenge (funded by Melinda French Gates & Mackenzie Scott among others) were announced last week and represent an impressive array of interventions...

With the onset of the 2021 (or possibly the 2020) Olympic games, I’m honestly not sure which, there is a plethora of stories coming out about the athletes, the competitions and the winners. All ...

Susannah Wellford, Mika Brzezinski, and Laura Cox Kaplan, RepresentWomen Dear fans of gender balance in politics, Journalist Mika Brzezinksi, who launched the Know Your Value platform on NBC 15 years ago, wrote this piece on what's next in the work for...

Dear friends, Members of the United States Senate, who wield an enormous amount of political power, continue to be old, White, wealthy and male. Only 2.9% of all Senators since 1789 have been women and...

Dear friends, The votes have been counted in the New York City primary and, while the city will have to wait at least another four years for a woman mayor, turnout was the highest...

  Dear friends, If I close my eyes I can almost conjure up the smell of fresh croissants and Chestnut trees that line the Tuileries and imagine the determined crowd of women's equality advocates who...

Adobe stock   Dear fans of women's representation, There were several articles this week relating to women's representation on corporate sector boards which is of course a key ingredient in the work for gender...

Dear friends, This weekend leaders of the G7 countries along with representatives of the European Union will meet in a seaside resort in Cornwall in the United Kingdom to tackle pressing issues including climate change &...

Dear women's representation enthusiasts, After graduating from college - 35 years ago this week -  I took a job on a U.S. Senate campaign because I thought that getting good people elected to Congress was the...

From left to right: Kathryn Garcia, Dianne Morales and Maya Wiley Dear gender equality fans,  The New York City mayoral primary is quickly approaching on June 22nd, it is the first citywide election to...

Melinda French Gates, painted by Melanie Humble “I want to see more women in the position to make decisions, control resources, and shape policies and perspectives...I believe that women’s potential is worth investing in...

Senator Mazie Hirono painted by Melanie Humble   Dear friends, As part of a series of interviews with Asian American leaders for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, The Washington Post spoke with Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono about...

Asian American women leaders Rep Patsy Mink, Tina Tchen, Katherine Tai, & former Oakland mayor Jean Quan - painted by Melanie Humble   Dear friends, It's Asian Pacific American Heritage month in the United States...

Vice president Harris & speaker Pelosi on the dais, painted by Melanie Humble Dear friends, For the first time in our nation's history two women stood on the dais in the Capitol last night as...

Rachel Carson, painted by Melanie Humble on a Suffrage palette background "We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have...

  Dear friends, It would be such a grand thing to invite you all to my garden, to talk about world events, share a glass of rose & some fresh asparagus, and fortify ourselves...

Dear gender equality fans,  I’m sure you all saw the amazing headline in the Washington Post about how women’s equality and domination has been achieved.

Portraits painted by Melanie Humble of women leaders including: Maya Angelou, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Warren, Fannie Lou Hamer, Condi Rice, Coretta Scott King, Ashley Judd, Frances Munoz, Tina Tchen, Rosa Parks, Eleanor...

Democratic lawmakers - wearing white suits in honor of the Suffragists - most of whom were Republicans - stand on the Capitol steps in Washington on Wednesday after passing a joint resolution to remove...

World map of women's representation from Inter-Parliamentary Union & UNWomen Dear fans of women's representation, The incredible team at the Inter-Parliamentary Union released their 2021 map and report on international women's representation this week in advance of the...

Women's History Month - from the team at RepresentWomen Happy Women's History Month! Women's History Month & International Women's Day - which is on March 8th - are both great opportunities to highlight the importance...

Zoraya Hightower co-chair of Better Ballot Burlington, courtesy of The Fulcrum   Dear friends, The hours of daylight are growing here in the mid-Atlantic and I am eager to get my seeds in the ground...

Dear women's representation enthusiasts, One of the best parts of writing this blog each week is finding pieces that challenge paradigms and bring fresh energy to the push for women's representation and equality. This article on Medium by Kristin Hull offers...

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women and former deputy president of South Africa   Dear friends, Though women in power are not a monolith, I have been thinking a lot this week about...

Claudette Colvin Dear women's representation enthusiasts, I have always felt a little conflicted about Black History Month and Women's History Month. On the one hand there is a risk of ignoring the many contributions of women and...

Source: RepresentWomen   Dear friends, The Biden Harris administration is moving quickly to enact policies that will address the unfolding economic & healthcare crises in the United States while also assembling a cabinet and...

Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayer swearing in Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday at the Capitol Dear friends, This week's inauguration of a new administration was at once a testimony to the power of...

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (L) delivers remarks after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden (R) announced her as his Commerce Secretary nominee at The Queen theater on January 08, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware.   Dear...

Senate staffers carrying certified presidential results to safety in the Capitol on Wednesday Dear women's representation advocates, While we don't yet know the short-term consequences of Wednesday's rampage on the Capitol we do know a few things:...

The amazing young women who are pictured above were part of the RepresentWomen team in 2020!   Dear friends and allies, On this penultimate day of 2020 I am writing to ask you to...

My dear friends, As I look back on 2020 I am mindful of the many challenges we faced as individuals, families, communities, Americans. and global citizens. We will remember those challenges but we will...

I had the pleasure of working with the amazing young women pictured above who were part of the RepresentWomen team in 2020!   Dear friend, I am writing to report on what the RepresentWomen...

Our friends at the Center for American Women and Politics released a new report this week on the challenges women face raising money to run for governor: Giving money to politics has not been a regular...

A mother greets her daughters at their school in Tulsa on Nov. 9. (Mike Simons/AP)   Dear fans of women's representation, Melinda Gates, who has demonstrated her dedication to advancing women's representation & leadership by funding the Equality Can't Wait Challenge,...

Dear friends, I am grateful for the work that you are doing to advance women's representation and for the chance to work with the small but mighty team at RepresentWomen. I know that there are...

Dear friends, Five years ago, to the day, I started publishing this blog with the goal of amplifying the great work that all of you are doing to advance women's representation and leadership in the United States....

Dear fans of women's representation & leadership. Results from last week's election are still trickling in so we don't yet know the final tally for the number of women elected to Congress and to state legislative positions....

Top row (Left to Right): Mauree Turner, Madinah Wilson-Anton, Stephanie Byers, Cori Bush, Christina Henderson Bottom row (Left to Right): Taylor Small, Marilyn Strickland, Deb Haaland, Sarah McBride   Dear allies in the work...

Dear women's representation stalwarts, On the eve of the 2020 general election, the terrific team at RepresentWomen has compiled an updated Gender Parity Index map that tracks women's representation at the local, state, and federal level -...

New Zealand election billboard from Flickr   Dear women's representation enthusiasts, We will have to wait a few more weeks to know the winner of the U.S. presidential election but the results are in for prime minister of...

Dear fans of women's representation, This week RepresentWomen released its Achieving Gender Parity: Systems Strategies Around the World report that offers a deep dive into the electoral systems, recruitment practices, and representation outcomes for women in...

Emmanuelle Charpentier, left, and Jennifer Doudna may have made the most important biological advance since the discovery of the structure of DNA.Credit...Miguel Riopa/Agence France-Presse   Dear fans of women's representation and equality,  Two women have jointly won...

First televised presidential debate held on November 4, 1956 between Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith Dear all, The very first televised presidential debate was held on November 4, 1956 between former first lady...

Photo credit: Rob Richie Dear women's representation advocates, As I wrote this missive last week I was feeling anxious about the 2020 election and what the results might mean for Americans and for all those around the globe who are...

Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester won her primary on September 15th   Dear friends, This week marks a significant milestone for women in politics in the United States: more women have filed to run for office...

International Olympic Committee Dear fans of women's representation, There was good news from the International Olympic Committee this week which held a series of online gatherings to discuss strategies to increase women's representation in governing bodies and leadership roles. Here is a...

Boston Globe Dear fans of women's representation and equality, The election season is upon us now in earnest with only a handful of primaries left to determine general election candidates for Congress and other offices. A Massachusetts...

Eleanor Smeal and Representative Bella Abzug in 1982 Happy Women's Equality Week! In 1971, the legendary Bella Abzug, a member of the House delegation from NY state, asked Congress to designate August 26th as Women's Equality Day to commemorate...

Mosaic Theater Company's rendition of 'The Agitators' with Marni Penning as Susan B. Anthony and Ro Boddie as Frederick Douglass - Photo by Stan Barough Dear fans of women's representation, On Tuesday, August 18th, we celebrated...

Sen. Kamala Harris after being introduced by presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate in Wilmington, Delaware., on August 12, 2020 - Toni Sandys / The Washington Post via Getty Images...

2020 Booker Prize nominees from the Booker Prize website Dear women's representation team members, You can read a sharper-looking version of this missive on Ms Magazine. Normalizing women's power and leadership can take many forms -- my favorite example from this week is...

Government News Dear fans of women's representation, As a reminder, if you would like to read a nicely laid out version of this blog you can hop to Ms Magazine though there are always a few extra stories that don't make...

Cover of the August issue of National Geographic celebrating the suffrage centennial Dear fans of women's representation, July 24th marks the 100th anniversary of women's equality champion Bella Abzug's birth and marks the midway point of the suffrage centennial. The...

Suffragists Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Ida B Wells painted by Melanie Humble Dear fans of women's representation, This week marks several milestones in the long struggle for women's equality: on July...

Photo courtesy of Gender Avenger Christina Morillo, via Pexels (cropped) Dear women's representation enthusiasts, News of Supreme Court decisions and the sweltering heat of Washington, DC are hard to avoid but there have also been some developments...

Getty Images: 116th Congress Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There were several key primaries this week with fascinating wins and losses for women candidates along with a number of landmark Supreme Court decisions that will...

Jeannette Rankin, painted by Melanie Humble   Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There were a number of significant milestones related to women's equality and representation this week including the anniversary of the day that the...

Ella Jones, a Ferguson, Mo., city councilwoman, in 2017. She was elected mayor on Tuesday night.Credit...David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via Associated Press   Dear friends, Amidst the news of the continuing pandemic and wide-spread...

  Dear women's representation enthusiasts! As readers may remember, jurisdictions with ranked choice voting are electing more women to office for both executive and legislative offices than the norm in non-RCV cities. There have...

The US Women's National Team celebrates winning the 2020 SheBelievesCup after beating Japan. Getty Images Dear women's representation enthusiasts! As perhaps some of you heard, a federal judge ruled against equal pay for the...

Grand Teton National Park wildflowers Dear fans of women's representation, As the general election looms ever closer, concern about the voting process is intensifying. There was a great piece in The Fulcrum this week...

(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) In this Jan. 31, 2020, file photo the Utah governor candidates are pictured. From left, Jeff Burningham, Aimee Winder Newton, Jon Huntsman, Thomas Wright, Greg Hughes and Spencer...

Women leaders Andrea Merkel, Tsai Ing-wen, Jacinda Ardernm Katrin Jakobsdottir, Sanna Marin, Erna Solberg, and Mette Frederikson from CNN.com Dear friends, Many of you have probably seen the widely-circulated piece by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in...

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was among the first governors in the nation to take the difficult, decisive action to close all K-12 schools and public universities amid the coronavirus crisis, writes Barbara Lee, president...

Jeannette Rankin was sworn in as the first woman elected to Congress on April 2nd, 1917 & is the only member of Congress to vote against funding for both the first and second world...

A World Bank Cambodia Health Sector Support Program, shown here in 2013 (World Bank/Flickr) Dear Friends, Despite the arrival of Spring this week it feels as though winter may still be coming - at...

(Seniors at Wellesley College organized an impromptu graduation before they left they left campus, The New York Times) Dear fans of women's representation, This week there has been a whirlwind of news relating to...

Jacinda Ardern with her partner & baby, The New York Times My dear friends, Belinda Luscombe had a fascinating piece in Time Magazine on New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern's "Next Big Test" that...

UN Women envisioned a new country called Equiterra, in which equality between genders, climate justice, and inclusion would reign. (Photo: Ruby Taylor/UN Women) Dear fans of women's representation, Many thanks to our friends at...

(Melinda Gates Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Founder of Pivotal Ventures. Author of The Moment of Lift meeting with women) Dear friends, This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Fourth...

Suffragists picketing for the right to vote outside the White House Dear friends, Kathy Spillar, Executive Editor of Ms, had a very good piece on the power women women's votes in this centennial of...

Dorothy Height, Ruby Bridges, Ida B Wells, Condi Rice, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Michelle Obama, Shirley Chisholm, Toni Morrison and Ruth Bader Ginsburg  Dear friends. There was an interesting piece in Gulf Today about the use of gender...

Dear friends, While it has been a very busy week politically in Iowa and in Washington, DC, it is the eve of another increasingly political event - the Oscars - this coming Sunday evening....

(With When Women Vote authors Stephanie Donner and Amber McReynolds) Dear friends, I am in the Denver airport this afternoon awaiting a flight to Cedar Rapids where I will be participating in a gathering...

Dear friends, Bridgette Bruno, Research and Communications Manager for the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, wanted to make sure that readers know about the webinar "Ready, Willing, & Electable: Women Running for Executive Office" that...

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates cheered for Delegate Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, center, a sponsor of a resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.Credit...Julia Rendleman for The New York Times Dear all,...

(Kelly Loeffler being sworn in this week) Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There are now 26 women in the United States Senate following the swearing in this week of Kelly Loeffler from Georgia - this...

(women leaders from the Elle piece mentioned below) Dear fans of women's representation, Happy 2020. It's a big year for many reasons. It's of course the centennial of the 19th amendment that granted most women the right to...

(Students from the Capital City Public Charter School) Dear all, This has been a big week of news from Capitol Hill but I am going to steer clear of that topic as I suspect...

All in their thirties: These women have a country to run. (From left to right) Finland's Minister of Education Li Andersson, 32; Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni, 32; Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 34; and Interior...

(Linnea Allison - head of programs at IREX, Deidre Combs - a consultant to a number of exchange programs, Courtney Lamendola - RepresentWomen's Research Director, and Maura Reilly - RepresentWomen fall intern) Dear friends, ...

Dear friends, Thanksgiving dinner in 2018 featured Arabia china my mother brought back from Finland where she helped Finns rebuild their homes right after World War II, rolls, blueberry & pecan pie, and cranberries...

Dear friends, This week's news was filled with the release of big reports from allies and elections results from contests around the country - a quick look at the reports: Our friends at the...

(Women and children striking for equality in Iceland on October 24, 1975) My dear friends, In the midst of my busy days last week I forgot to celebrate the anniversary of the day in...

(from the desk of RepresentWomen's artist in residence....) Dear friends, It's hard to adequately capture even a fraction of the stories about women's representation each week but it is especially hard on weeks that...

Hello friends, I have been in Belgrade, Serbia this week attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union's 141st gathering of parliamentarians from 178 countries. I landed just now so this week's missive will be mostly photos -...

Dear friends, The terrific team at the Center for American Women and Politics released their report Unfinished Business: Women Running in 2018 and Beyond this week that examines the gains women made in the...

Hello friends, Another busy week of work and travel in and around the world of women's representation! Yet again, I do not have time to do justice to the many interesting threads that tell...

My dear friends,   Melinda Gates is using her considerable influence to encourage a deep conversation about the imperative for women's equality. This week she penned a long-form piece in the Harvard Business Review...

Dear friends, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day here in NYC and walk through Central Park so this week's Weekend Reading update will be a photo essay crafted on a bench...

Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith on CBS News in 1956 My dear friends, This week's democratic debate reminded me of one of my favorite largely-untold stories from American history. It was two women,...

Women in the northeastern state of Assam in India Hello friends! Geetika Dang wrote a terrific piece on for Brookings on several papers that were presented at an event on July on women's political...

Happy Women's Equality Day week! Many thanks to Patti Russo for sharing this terrific image on Facebook this week in celebration of the 99th anniversary of women's suffrage - I would love to know...

(Suffragists protest outside the White House in Washington, DC circa 1919) Happy women's equality week my friends, As most of you in the U.S. know, this week marks the 99th anniversary of the day...

(From East Asia Forum) Hello friends! This will be a super short rendition as there isn't a whole lot of news to report that I can find easily and my now-adult children are all...

“The enemy is not men. The enemy is the concept of patriarchy, the concept of patriarchy as the way to run the world or do things.”   Toni Morrison Hello friends, As I am certain...

Nakuru County Chief office in charge of Gender, Culture and Social Services, Tume Abduba speaking at Regina Pacis Elimu School on July 4, 2019. PHOTO | FRANCIS MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP  Dear friends...

(Photos by Justin Sullivan and Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) Dear friends, The Pew Research Center released data this week on attitudes toward women as candidates for the presidency and overall the trend is positive for...

Happy 171st Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women's Convention, Today marks the 171st anniversary of a milestone in the conversation about women's equality in the United States. According to this post from the National...

(The US women's soccer team after their win this week) Dear friends, As I am sure you've heard by now, the US women's soccer team won the World Cup this week in an exciting...

(Dessert at the 4th of July party I attended in the northeast corner of India last night)   Hello all! Another brief message tonight as I am still in India and have very limited...

Dearest friends, I have been in India for a week now but it feels like much longer - each day has been packed with such interesting meetings with government officials, news executives, educators, health...

Good evening friends! I am about to board a flight to London and then on to India and my computer keeps crashing so this week's missive will really be brief! Our friends at the...

(Calling for change: A rally for gender equality on International Women's Day in Kiev, Ukraine) Dear sisters, I am out of time and energy this Friday evening so I will just share a few...

Newly elected Tampa mayor Jane Castor Dear gender parity enthusiasts! Tampa, Florida elected its first LGBT woman mayor this week according to this story on ABC.com - she joins 37 openly LGBT mayors nationwide: Jane Castor made history...

‘Women, don’t be afraid to participate in politics!’ Activists and politicians mark International Women’s Day in Banda Aceh in March. Photo by Irwansyah Putra for Antara. Dear friends, There was a fascinating story on...

Kakenya Ntaiya, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium, Heidi Hartmann, Melanne Verveer, and Hanna Kristjansdottir at American University College of Law this week Dear friends, It was a real pleasure...

Lori Lightfoot was elected mayor of Chicago - the 3rd largest city in the United States - becoming the first African American and first openly gay person elected to that office. Many news outlets...

Dear friends, I had a piece in The Hill this week about how best to honor the legacy of the brave women whose work got us to where we are today, here is a...

(Sign painted on the wall of a local women's handicraft shop in Kathmandu) Namaste, I have had another very full week in Nepal meeting with staff from UN Women, members of Parliament, journalists and...

Hello friends, Amidst an amazing array of adventures & meetings I stumbled into the shop of a fabulous young woman named Nasreen Sheikh in Kathmandu who is an eloquent & passionate advocate for the...

Friends, Happy International Women's Day! I confess to having not memorized the history behind March 8th and tend to shy away from focusing too much on celebrating women on just one day but I...

(Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle candidates for mayor of Chicago will advance to a runoff election) Dear friends, I am traveling today so this will be an unusually brief missive - I know I...

Candidates for the democratic nomination: Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobchar, & Elizabeth Warren Dear friends, Marie Claire profiled the women candidates this week - not sure that I agree with their...

My dear friends, There was a terrific story on CNN about the first "female duo" to run a House committee that features the fast friendship and years of collaboration between Rep Kay Granger (TX-R)...

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Stephanie Pitcher plays with her daughters Penelope, 4, and Charlotte, 6, at a park near their home in Salt Lake City. Pitcher, a Democrat, won her seat in...

Dear all, There has been a flurry of interest in Ranked Choice Voting this week including: the NYC Charter Commission has included RCV in their list of recommendations - please contact the Commission directly...

Senators Kristin Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren Dear fans of women's representation, There are now four women running for the democratic presidential nomination along with a number of male hopefuls - multiple candidates...

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...

Dear friends, If you live in the area or are coming to Washington, DC next week please join an exciting conversation about women in politics hosted by Pantsuit Politics & Swanee Hunt. Here are...

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 Dear women's representation...

Hello friends, It has been quite a year. It has been quite a year of challenges to democratic processes in the United States. It has been quite a year for women candidates and the...

The Nevada legislature breaks a glass ceiling. Photo: Lance Iversen/AP/REX/Shutterstock Dear friends, It has been a great week for progress toward gender parity! Nevada became the first state to have a majority female state...

(Representative Elise Stefanik) Hello friends, There was a very interesting story from Roll Call that covers Rep Elise Stefanik's focus on supporting republican women in primaries and securing early contributions from PACs to make their races viable: New...

(Mary Hughes and I met to conspire at the Claremont Hotel and soaked in this incredible sunset) Dear friends, Last week I wrote to you from northern California and I am still in California!...

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...

(from Signe Wilkinson - Quaker cartoonist for the Philadelphia Daily News & Philadelphia Inquirer - yeah Quakers!) Good afternoon my friends, I thought I would post just a few stories this week as I know many of us...

(This cover from the New Yorker captures the election results - I happened to be sleeping on the couch of a dear friend who is an editor there and she handed me my very...

(Glamour Magazine article on historic 'firsts' for women's representation) My dear women's representationists, This week's missive will be short and sweet as I know we are all inundated with information and news! There were...

Dear friends and allies, Before the final frenzy of GOTV and the inevitable coverage of close wins and losses and the discussion of what it all means for our democracy, I wanted to take...

(former Ambassador now president of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde) Dear women's representation community members, AfricaNews reported this week on the selection of Ambassador Sahle-Work Zewde as Ethiopia's first woman president:           The influential Addis Standard...

Dear friends, I have had mixed feedback on whether to include full articles or just snippets with strong feelings on both sides of the question but this week I am going to try the...

Dear friends, Heather Wolf shared this article by Susan Chira from The New York Times that is a very important read: What are those women thinking? The ones who cheered President Trump’s mockery of...

(from Fast Company piece cited below) Dear friends There was a heartfelt piece on Fast Company by candidate Caitlin Clarkson Pereira about the need for news rules around how to pay for childcare while running for office -...

Dear all, It has been a week that confirmed both the stark reality of partisan polarization in 2018 and the power of organizing and reason to impact the political process. In 1942 Eleanor Roosevelt...

Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There was a very interesting story in ISS Today about women's representation in Somalia which has been increasing since the introduction and reintroduction of quotas - while compliance and implementation...

Greetings! According to this piece on Broadly: White men form the minority of House Democratic nominees this cycle, giving way to a wave of women and people of color who outnumber them. An analysis...

Dear women's representation allies, The primaries are nearly over save for remaining contests in New Hampshire (September 11), Rhode Island (September 12), & New York (September 13) according to the National Conference of State...

Hello friends! This fall RepresentWomen will become fiscally independent from FairVote and we are planning a celebration! Please buy your ticket for the event & share the invite with others to help us fill...

(NY state assembly women Nathalia Fernandez & Patricia Fahy with Manhattan Borough president Gale Brewer at the Susan B Anthony Park in Rochester, NY) Happy Women's Equality Weekend! In 1971 Representative Bella Abzug (D...

Dear all, Once again I am racing out the door - this time to a Rank Your Favorite Beer event nearby which should be fun! Ranked choice voting advocates have been introducing voters to...

I am writing to you on a Thursday again because we are dashing off to our beloved cabin in the Pine Barrens tonight to spend 36 hours with all three of our children after...

Ennahda Souad Abderrahim in Tunisia Dear all, There was a fascinating article in the Middle East Eye about how Islamist parties are advancing women's rights: Contrary to prominent views in the West and among...

Every generation has had to wrestle with questions of identity, power and equality - within the family, within religious practice & belief, and within decision making bodies and society at large. Today, however, marks...

Querida hermanas, Mexico now ranks 4th for women's representation worldwide! Women in Mexico, of course, are pretty much the same as women in the US but gender quotas and proportional voting are fueling women's...

The New York Times wrote about women's representation in state legislatures and how those statistics are likely to change after the general elections in November. The piece quotes Katie Ziegler from the NCSL who...

There was a great story on Vox by Sarah Kliff this week that confirms something we all believe "Research shows electing women makes a real difference in people's lives" - I will post the...

​Democratic nominee for governor of Maine - Janet Mills Dear all, As CBS News reports, Maine became the first state to use ranked choice voting for a statewide race this week and elected a woman....

I have been thinking a lot about majority rule. My daughter and I were among the fortunate who got to see Hamilton at the Kennedy Center this week. I was of course reminded of...

Dear friends, Women now comprise two thirds of the cabinet of the newly-elected government in Spain according to this story in the The New York Times: Spain’s new prime minister on Wednesday unveiled a...

With Marianne Schnall at the launch of her terrific Year of Women project in NYC Happy almost summer! There were several articles this week that caught my eye including this one from Oklahoma Watch...

Hello again! Chrissie Castro just emailed to say that Paulette Jordan is also the first woman and Native American to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Idaho - there was a story on Vox...

Stacey Abrams - D GA - first African American female gubernatorial nominee - rsvp for the Higher Heights call with Stacey scheduled for Saturday at 2pm EST Dear friends, Four states held primaries/runoffs this...

Dear friends, Another round of primaries this week resulted in wins for women in crowded primaries at the state and federal level - as the New York Times reports: Just as the women’s marches...

I'll start this week with some truly great news! The Washington Post was among a number of news outlets that covered the FEC's decision to allow candidates to pay for childcare from money raised...

Good morning! As a postscript to my message yesterday about the questions posed by a reporter to mayoral candidate Jane Kim, I thought I would share the following: * The San Francisco Chronicle has...

Good evening, A series of events - both fortunate and unfortunate - have required my time these last few days so I thought I would share one story from this week that seems to...

​(Debbie Lesko R-AZ after her victory in Arizona this week) Dear friends and allies, Politico reports that Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) won the special election to the House of Representatives this week bringing the number...

​ Barbara Bush died this week: Peter Baker writes this beautiful story about her courage and determination in the The New York Times Dear friends, Kristina Wilfore has launched a new podcast called Fatima's...

Dear friends, The new Gender Avenger Tally that "lets you record and share the gender (im)balance you see everyday. Whether it’s on TV, at a conference, or on a magazine cover, the GA Tally...

​Google celebrated Maya Angelou's birthday this week with this cover photo Dear friends,The big story this week in the United States is the record number of women running for the House of Representatives in...

There was a fascinating story in Civil Georgia about the defeat of proposed gender quota legislation in Georgia which had the support of the prime minister, many members of parliament and civil society groups. I will include the...

Deb Haaland - Native American woman candidate for Congress from New Mexico Dear friends, There was a piece by Lindsay Miller in Pop Sugar about Deb Haaland who could become the first native American...

My dear friends, Last Saturday, The Hill ran my piece entitled "Congress, like Hollywood, has a female representation problem" which I wrote to encourage a conversation about concrete steps that we should be taking to advance women's representation...

This week millions of women and men around the world celebrated International Women's Day. I learned from Wikipedia that IWD is considered an official state holiday in over 40 countries and that people across the globe...

I have been on the road this week in Canada with Jeanne Massey from FairVote Minnesota speaking to groups in cities that have already adopted ranked choice voting or will be voting to adopt #RCV this...

​ My dear friends, As I mentioned last week, RelfectUS - the new coalition of non-partisan organizations that are joining together to work for gender parity - is going live on March 6th! Please...

​The 2018 US Olympic bobsled team Dear readers,The 2018 US Olympic team is gender balanced in large part because of a system reform a generation ago called Title IX. Several years ago I wrote...

Professor Jennifer Piscopo wrote in The New York Times this week about women's leadership in Latin America which has plateaued despite the adoption of gender quotas in recent years - most (if not all?)...

​The year 2020 is fast-approaching so we have decided to change the name of Representation2020 to RepresentWomen. I like the simplicity of RepresentWomen and hope that you will too! I am attending the Unrig...

Awards season is upon us and though aspects of the ceremonies seem a tad superficial I have been struck by the power of celebrities to advance the conversation about gender equality - quickly.

Hello from Budapest!   I wasn't planning on posting but I was reminded that Alice Paul was born on January 11, 1885 - she was an eighth-generation Quaker, who graduated from Swarthmore College and...

Dear sisters, It's been a busy start to 2018 with daily reminders of both the need for women to have an equal voice in elected/appointed offices and the potential for rapid change that coalition...

Dear friends and allies, Barbara Lee, president and founder of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, penned a terrific piece that reflects what so many of us are thinking "We don;t need another Year of...

Dear friends, I decided a little poetry might be right for this week: Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion...

from Leda Black - find out more about her work here   Dear all, There will be 22 women in the US Senate once Tina Smith, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota since 2015, is...

Debra Rodman, Mehrnaz Teymourian, Vivian Watts, Cynthia Terrell, Danica Roem, Toni Gingerelli Dear friends, This week's missive will be very short as I am racing to get to a dear friend's book signing in...

Dear friends, As is often true, the most inspiring news I found this week on advancing gender parity comes from outside our borders. I hope that as we formulate and refine our work together...

​​The New York Times reported on the first American woman to win the NYC marathon in 40 years - advancing women's leadership on all fronts! ​Dear all, Women candidates made great strides in Tuesday's...

According to this story on the MintPress News the United States has fallen to 49 in ranking of gender equality in a new World Economic Forum report: The United States has made significant decline....

​ The Barbara Lee Family Foundation released their report Opportunity Knocks that tracks the recent increase in the number of women running for office and makes the compelling case that there has never been...

Dear all, The BBC reported on women's representation in the Communist Party and in governmental positions in China: Of the 89.4 million members of the Chinese Communist Party, just under 23 million are women...

New Zealand has a new female prime minister Jacinda Ardern who joins just 12 other women heads of state world wide and at 37 is the youngest female head of state in New Zealand's...

Man Finally Put In Charge of Struggling Feminist Movement What a week it's been friends, The latest issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine covers many parts of the women's representation mosaic from a great piece by...

Dear friends, Read this great piece from Politico complete with an interview with the fabulous Gwen Young, director of the Wilson Center's Global Women's Leadership Initiative, about the launch of their Global Women's Leadership...

​​Dear friends, There was a terrific interview with Nadya Okamoto the 19 year old college student who is running for city council in Cambridge, MA - her passion for public service and for ranked...

​Happy autumn to everyone in the northern hemisphere! And happy election weekend to those who will be voting in New Zealand on Saturday and voting in Germany on Sunday. These two nations are of...

​Jane Austen on the Bank of England's 10lb note - see great story here.Hello friends, The New York Times had several interesting pieces this week including this opinion piece entitled "Women's Voice Remains Faint...

​ Dear friends, There was a fascinating story on NPR about a new study on attitudes about women lawmakers which found that women think that women legislators have more integrity and are more competent:...

Dear friends, A little light reading for the holiday weekend from my marvelous daughter Anna Richie who wrote a piece comparing the number of years women have served as monarchs (4,990) versus the number...

  Dear allies,Our friends at Latinas Represent have organized a Twitter Town Hall for this afternoon at 2pm to celebrate Women's Equality Day. A number of the leading non-partisan women's representation organizations will be...

"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. Congress shall have power to enforce...

​ Dear friends, There is simply too much to do! This week will be short on content but long on appreciation! I am reminded daily of the absolutely necessary and fabulous work that all...

Hello friends and allies, Writing again from the road in New Hampshire - the only state to get an 'A' on Rep2020's Gender Parity Index - so just a thumbnail sketch of some of...

Hello friends,This week's missive will be short because I am on a work/vacation road trip speaking and organizing in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts! I will be attending the National Conference of State Legislatures...

​Speakers at the Galvanize launch in Chicago this week Dear friends,This week marked the 169th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention where a group of women - who had been excluded from a abolitionist...

Happy Bastille Day! There was a fascinating story from Malta Today about the proposal there to use separate ballots to triple the number of female MPs - a great example of party leaders engaging...

​It's easy to count the number of female heads of state at the G20 Summit - just 4 of 36... Dear allies and friends, If you only have to skim this email I hope...

​I am thrilled to report that the Fair Representation Act (H.R. #3057) was introduced by Rep Don Beyer (D VA) on Monday. When passed (!), THe FairRepAct will eliminate gerrymandering, reduce polarization, elect more...

Happy 45th anniversary of Title IX!I find Title IX inspiring because it established equitable educational and athletic opportunity for generations of girls and women in the United States but also because it provides a...

​ Dear all, All eyes are on France this weekend to see the results from the final round of legislative elections this Sunday - read this article to rekindle your appreciation for the role...

​ ​Hello all, There were key races on both sides of the Atlantic this week that ground Representation2020's analysis of the structural barriers facing female candidates and the impact of intentional actions to accelerate...

​Susannah Wellford and Laura Cox Kaplan joined Mika Brzezinski at an event at the Embassy of Germany that was focused on the "importance of authenticity, knowing and owning your value, and tackling self doubt"...

Dear friends and allies, I will keep this short as we all settle in for a longer-than-usual weekend. I am spending mine with my family in our very rustic cabin in the Pine Barrens...

Dear friends,Nina Agrawal reports in the LA Times about the election of Monica Rodriguez to the Los Angeles City Council - her election doubles the number of women on the council and serves as...

​ Hello my friends, The best news this week for women is that newly elected French president Emmanuel Macron announced that half of his cabinet will be comprised of women and that half of...

​Don't forget to check out a 50/50 Day party near you on May 10th! If you are in the DC area come to the Rep2020 offices to view the film and celebrate the push...

​Dear friends, Every week brings reminders of the pressing need to elect more women from across the racial, political, and geographic spectrum along with indications that our work is gaining traction. I am heartened...

Hello friends and allies, The Federalist ran a fascinating blog by Patrick Fletchall titled "When Pushing Women's Advancement, Big Businesses Are Hypocrites" - the entire piece is very worth reading but here is a...

​Kay Ivey being sworn in as governor of Alabama Hello allies,Louise Davidson-Schmich had an excellent piece on Vox's political science blog Mischiefs of Faction on the impact of quotas and voting systems on the...

Jeanette Rankin addressing the House of Representatives April 1917 Dear parity enthusiasts! Heather Wolf sent along several articles for the listserv including this one from the Washington Post about Jeanette Rankin's decision to cast...

Hello everyone!As always, there is a lot happening in the world.This weekend will mark the centennial of women's representation in Congress. Republican Jeannette Rankin was elected from a multi-winner district in Montana in November,...

My dear friends, This edition will be some abbreviated as I am in transit for most of the day. My thoughtful husband sent along a couple good links to updates on likely gubernatorial candidates...

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women,commented on the UN report on women's representation and map showing where women hold office. Dear all, Representative Mimi Walters (R-CA) wrote a very compelling piece in Motto...

​(Iconic statue of Fearless Girl facing bull installed this week on Wall Street) My friends,There were of course many articles and news stories on the celebration of International Women's Day from the both the...

My dear friends, Great news for women's representation fans! Eighteen states now have ranked choice voting legislation pending and just today the Utah state house passed RCV with support from 75% of the republican...

​Check out FairVote's new app to vote on the Oscar nominees using the same ranked choice voting system that the Oscar voters use! Once we work out all the kinks - your feedback is...

​Dear friends, Hold onto your hats my friends, the United States now ranks 104th in women's representation among nations - dropping in just the last few weeks from 100th place. The US now ranks...

The incredible Tuti Scott created these nuggets of inspiration Dear friends, Congratulations to the terrific team at Running Start who organized an amazing celebration of #NewWomenMembers of Congress on Tuesday at the Canadian Embassy...

​Dear all, Groundhog Day. We all know the movie in which Bill Murray is destined to repeat the same year, year after year until he "begins to re-examine his life and priorities." This 'holiday'...

Dear friends, NYMagazine profiles the 9 Black female judges who were elected in Alabama - an impressive development and a very interesting story. I am researching the number of women who get elected vs...

​My friends, Anita Hill had a powerful piece in the Washington Post on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for women - she concludes with these words: In 2016, in the aftermath of...

The Representation2020 team gather with Frances Perkins' grandson under her portrait in the office of the current Secretary of Labor! My dear friends, Susannah Wellford had yet another terrific piece in US News and...

​Dear friends,There was a very interesting piece in Roll Call by Simone Pathe on funding models for republican women candidates which raises some very interesting questions about what motivates voters to donate to and/or...

​Canadian House of Commons Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There was a very interesting article in the New York Times by Susan Chira about what the next steps for women and feminists should be -...

Dear gender parity listserv members,It's been a year of contrasts. While women of color and republican women won seats at the state and federal level they are still less represented than white democratic women...

​For those of you following election outcomes in Ireland and the impact of the new gender quota law there this story in the Irish Times provides a good update. Dear friends,Laura Liswood has a...

Hello friends,Last week I wrote from Brussels and this week I was visiting with women's representation experts in the UK.  Susannah Wellford and I had the privilege of speaking with a number of the...

​Dear all, It has been such a pleasure to be in Brussels this week to talk with women from across Europe and the United States about strategies to elect more women to government offices....

​ Hello friends,Susannah Wellford - of Running Start - wrote a terrific piece in US News on how to move forward in our work together. She writes: Our country is so deeply divided right...

Dear friends, I thought one of the best post-election pieces I read was this one by Michele Goodwin in Huffington Post entitled Tough Questions About Women and Politics in the Wake of Trump Presidential...

Dear all, It has been quite a week. The much-anticipated election of the first woman president did not happen. The number of women governors declined from six to five - with three of those...

  Wow.Only a few days to go in an election that has torn the scabs off the wound that is our electoral system. Regardless of the results up and down the ballot on Tuesday...

Dear friends,I'll start with a brief election update though many of you who are on the ground in states may have a better sense of how state and federal races are unfolding.The race for...

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...

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...

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...

Dear all, 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...

  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...

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...

Dear all, Jane Addams celebrated a birthday this week - born in 1860, Addams was a suffragist and founder of Hull House in Chicago. She became the first American woman to receive the Nobel...

Hello everyone, Sending this a day early as I am attending the American Political Science Association meeting in Philadelphia - I will try to track some of you down to learn more about the...

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...

This week there was an interesting - if not somewhat familiar - piece in Vox by Sarah Kliff and Soo Oh - Why Aren't There More Women In Congress? which has very snazzy graphics...

Greetings from the New Jersey Pine Barrens and cheers to all of you who are doing such terrific work! There are now 225 people on this list! I hope that you will send along...

Annabelle Timsit writes a great piece for Politico entitled Women in Charge: A New Record?  that's an excellent look at women's executive leadership worldwide - she concludes:Without structural changes to the ways in which...

What a couple weeks it has been! I wish I had time to report on all of the great events and progress at both of the conventions but I am rushing out of the...

This week marked the 168th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women's Convention. I like to imagine the scene there on those hot days of July in upstate NY. The women in their long dresses...

Dear all,One of the most (if not only?) upbeat stories of the week was the release of the new President and Vice President Barbie set. She Should Run teamed up with Barbie to send...

  Dear all,The recent tumult in electoral outcomes and violence in our communities underscores for me the imperative of representative government. While it is not a salve for all the pain and hurt and...

Marie Wilson is author of the very timely Closing the Leadership Gap: Add Women, Change Everything - which makes a terrific graduation or Father's Day gift!Dear all,This was a momentous week for women's representation....

Dear all,This week has been a busy one - wedged between one daughter's graduation from college, another daughter's graduation from high school, and my own 30th college reunion! I have had a flurry of...

Dear all,The Washington Post waded into the thorny topic of gender bias in politics this week with a piece by Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless which draws from their new book Women on the...

Hello friends,Though I have no scientific evidence to back this, Friday seems to be getting a tad shorter each week - while the list of interesting news stories and work on women's representation seems...

Dear friends,I can't possibly do justice to all the great work being done by so many but I will share a few stories that caught my eye this week.

Dear friends,The PBS News Hour had a good segment in April on the history of female presidential candidates - which is an important reminder of the long struggle to break that 'highest glass ceiling' -...

Dear women's representation enthusiasts, There were several article on the results of the primaries held this week. One from the Baltimore Sun entitled As Barbara Mikulski makes way, Democratic women suffer election losses - this piece and...

Dear friends,The big news relating to gender parity this week was the long-anticipated announcement that an image of a woman would replace the image of a man on US currency - I am very...

Dear all,I am very glad to be darting around the Bay Area this week connecting with all sorts of women's representation enthusiasts - meetings include mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf, elected with ranked choice...

Dear friends,I hope that you will check out the GenderAvenger website, watch their clever video, become a subscriber, learn what news commentary shows have the best gender balance, and get the GA Tally App!

  Dear all, Sewall Belmont House announced the launch of the Women's Vote Centennial Initiative to plan for the 100th anniversary of suffrage in 2020. This blog by Stephanie Drahan on the League of Women Voters site is a good...

Dear all,Several pieces caught my eye this week including a blog by Representation2020 intern Viviana Gonzalez on the history of using structural remedies like Title IX and the Civil Rights Act to address an unlevel...

Dear friends,The celebrations of women's history month continue with plenty to read and absorb.I was very glad to take my 16 year old daughter to Running Start's10th anniversary gala this week in Washington, DC....

Dear friends,There were many great celebrations of International Women's Day this week - this Google Doodle - struck a a hopeful chord.

(poster for the massive suffrage parade on March 3rd, 1913)Dear women's representation enthusiasts,I am starting off Women's History Month on vacation with my sister and mother-in law so this week's compilation will be brief...

Dear all,This week I will be especially brief as I am racing out the door!Here are a couple things to read about women's representation that caught my eye.Sarah John, FairVote's research director, has a...