Outside Research 

Opening the Gates - Clearing the Way for More Women to Hold Political Office

CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

This paper looks at the current state of women’s representation in elected office, what barriers to holding political office women face, and what can be done to make progress toward gender parity.

The Gavel Gap: Who Sits in Judgement on State Courts?

American Constitution Society for Law and Policy

"Women comprise roughly one-half of the U.S. population and one-half of American law students. But, less than one-third of state judges are women. In some states, women are underrepresented on the bench by a ratio of one woman on the bench for every four women in the state. Not a single state has as many women judges as it does men."

The Legislative Effectiveness of Women in Congress

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

“Consistent with women adopting legislative strategies of exerting high effort, consensus building, and issue specialization, we find conditions under which women are more effective lawmakers than their male counterparts.”

Men Rule: The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics

American University

“Study after study finds that, when women run for office, they perform just as well as their male counterparts. … We argue that the fundamental reason for women’s under-representation is that they do not run for office.”

Favorite Sons (and Daughters):The Constitution’s Gender-Egalitarian Minimum Age Qualifications

Yale University

This text “argues the Constitution’s minimum age qualifications serve an important egalitarian function for women.” Included are statistics on candidate’s average age of entry into office by gender, as well as how having children affects this age.

Why Don’t Women Run for Office?

Brown University

“Extensive research shows that when women run for office – at any level – they perform just as well as men. Yet women remain severely under-represented in our political institutions. Thus, the question that merits investigation is why so few women decide to run.”

Online Resources

Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP)

CAWP is an extensive database of research on American women in politics. Its mission statement is “to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life.” 

Inter-Parliamentary Union - Women in National Parliaments

Information on number of women in national parliaments as well as regional parliamentary assemblies. Current and archived data are both available.

Ballotpedia

A nonprofit, nonpartisan collaborative encyclopedia designed to connect people to politics and elections at the local, state and federal level. Provides results for all U.S. elections.

Women Rule Series - Politico

A multi-platform journalism series from POLITICO, in partnership with Google and the Tory Burch Foundation, dedicated to exploring women’s leadership in politics, policy, and their communities.

YouGov

An online polling database that provides up-to-date data on public opinion and publishes research on quantitative and qualitative data that they collect.

Center for American Progress

An independent, progressive nonprofit policy institute dedicated to research and action in a wide array of policy areas. 

FairVote

FairVote is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to making democracy fair, functional, and more representative through comprehensive electoral reforms.

Chamber Hill Strategies

A conservative, woman owned public policy and consulting firm. The Firm's services include direct advocacy, policy development and positioning, political strategies, coalition management, social media advocacy, special event hosting, and strategy development. 

Ready to Run

A non-partisan national network of campaign training programs from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) to encourage and train women to run for elective office, position themselves for appointive office, work on a campaign, or get involved in public life in other way.

Parity Partners

Empowered Women

Empowered Women gives voice to a bold new generation of American women. We are a positive, proactive platform that fosters achievement in leadership and civic engagement. Our Founders envisioned a great nation built on representative democracy and liberty and justice for all. At Empowered Women, we seek to fulfill that vision, building on the courage of the women who came before us and fought for the freedom and opportunities we enjoy today.   

Higher Heights

Higher Heights is building a national infrastructure to harness Black women’s political power and leadership potential. Higher Heights for America and its sister organization Higher Heights Leadership Fund are investing in a long-term strategy to analyze, expand and support a Black women’s leadership pipeline at all levels and strengthen their civic participation beyond just Election Day.

IGNITE

IGNITE trains young women from high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States. Our participants are passionate about bettering their communities, but may not always understand the role of political leadership in that process. IGNITE teaches young women how to think critically about policy and understand where the levers of power to make change actually reside.

LatinasRepresent

LatinasRepresent is a joint initiative to call out the lack of elected Latina leaders and change the political landscape to reflect all Americans. LatinasRepresent is ready for change. We’ll unite stakeholders and communities around the country; raise up models of success to serve as road maps for replication at state and national levels; embolden current and future Latina candidates; and drive a national conversation about the need for increased Latina representation.

RightNOW

RightNOW Women PAC is a volunteer organization helping elect qualified women to federal office. We support women candidates from all walks of life who share common beliefs in economic growth, individual responsibility, a strong national defense, access to the best education and quality healthcare at a reasonable cost.

Running Start

Running Start supports the young women who will shape tomorrow’s world. We aim to plant the seed of interest in politics so that they will run earlier, climb higher through leadership, and share more in the decision making power of their country. These young women will bring in new ideas to help solve old problems, and will raise issues unique to their lives that have otherwise been overlooked in politics.

She Should Run

Founded in 2011, She Should Run is a non-partisan 501(c)3 that provides an approachable starting place and network for women leaders considering a future run for office and for those who support them. Our mission is to expand the talent pool of women running for office in the United States by providing community, resources, and growth opportunities for aspiring political leaders. 

VoteRunLead

VoteRunLead is a national nonpartisan organization that unleashes the power of women leaders in democracy through training, technology and community. By harnessing the power of social networks as a new and powerful recruitment tool, creating an online platform to learn to run and lead, and conducting in-person trainings that build community, VoteRunLead will fuel women’s ambition for political leadership, redistribute power in our democracy, and close the knowledge gap around politics for women from all classes, cultures and colors.