- Take Action
- Donate
- Thank You
Thank You
Thank you for your donation to RepresentWomen. Your contribution will be used to support RepresentWomen's mission to advance gender parity in elected office.
Updates from RepresentWomen
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on February 08, 2019
(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 House District 40, is a prosecutor for Davis County and also works with the Utah Women's Coalition. Sheand Utah Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, are sponsoring a proposal that would enable candidates to use campaign funds to cover child-care expenses.
Dear friends,
There was
a great piece in
The Salt Lake City Tribune that reports on exactly the type of rule change that enables women to run & serve more effectively - RepresentWomen is working to broadcast examples of rules changes like this widely:
“Allowing parents to use campaign funds for child care, we will see a more diverse field of candidates,” said Payne, mother of four young children.
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on February 01, 2019
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 if you are a New Yorker and would like to let them know why you support RCV - see this story in the Gotham Gazette
- legislators in New Hampshire are considering using RCV for their presidential primary according to this story in AP
- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is testing the waters to run as an independent candidate for president - prompting a blizzard of commentary on social media pointing out the need for ranked choice voting and a number of good articles including this one by Rachel Kleinfield in The Hill and this one in The Economist
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on January 25, 2019
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 who appeal to the same constituencies are a recipe for split votes and 'winners' who get a tiny percentage of the vote in key early contests. A number of state party chairs are open to the possibility of using a ranked ballot to ensure that candidates emerge with broad support. My husband Rob Richie and my friend Rep Jamie Raskin
write about the crowded presidential primary field and the ranked choice voting today in
The Hill:
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on January 18, 2019
Dear readers,
Each week brings a perplexing quandary for me - there is so, so much to report on about women's international representation and efforts to expand women's representation in the United States but there are also many projects/events/deadlines encroaching on my time that prevent me from doing an adequate job reporting on it all! My time is short again this week but here are a couple highlights!
The New York Times published portraits of 130 of the 131 women serving in the 116th Congress - there was a nice piece in the Times describing the process and another great piece in Coieter by Bibi Deitz that captures the impact:
In a perfect world, Congress would have way more women and we wouldn’t be applauding the fact that they comprise almost a quarter of the House and Senate. But—baby steps. This term, women comprise close to 25 percent of Congress, which is still not enough, but it’s a good start.
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on January 11, 2019
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 the details:
- Friday, January 18
- 4-7pm
- Frederick Douglass Hall of the Metropolitan AME Church
- 1518 M St NW, Washington, DC 20005
The program will feature a terrific lineup of speakers who bring diverse perspectives to this important work. Please use this
Eventbrite invite to RSVP and email me with any questions! I hope to see many of you there!
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on January 04, 2019
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 allies,
My daughter and I spent most of the day on the Hill yesterday racing between the offices of new and returning members of Congress, dodging hoards of well-wishers, and find many familiar faces among the crowds - it was an amazing experience.
The Washington Post captures the spirit of the day
in this piece:
To the left of the dais — the Democratic side — the typical sea of men’s suit jackets was balanced by pops of green, blue and white worn by women. Bald heads alternated with bobbed haircuts. Scanning the rows, the record number of women and lawmakers of Hispanic, Asian and African American heritage who will serve this term was clear.
To the right of the dais — the Republican side — older white men occupied nearly every seat. Visually, granddaughters provided most of the contrast.
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on December 28, 2018
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 individuals and organizations who have supported them. And it has been quite a year for women around the globe who are getting elected at higher rates than women in the US because rules & systems are in place in those nations that create more opportunities for women to run, win, serve, and lead.
Read more
By Maryama Thiam
on December 26, 2018
My name is Maryama Thiam, the daughter of immigrants from Senegal, a sophomore at Chesapeake Math and IT Academy, and the secretary of a non-profit organization, “Mothers Of Africa.” Despite attending a Math and IT school, my true passion is law and politics. As a child of immigrants from Africa, my household is always full of political debates. Even at a young age, my parents allowed me to listen to their debates and sometimes join in. I always enjoyed giving my opinion and having facts to back it up.
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on December 21, 2018
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 legislature after Beatrice Duran was appointed to fill a vacant position according to
this story in
The New York Times:
As a single mother, Beatrice Duran never imagined that she would get involved in politics. When she moved to Las Vegas in 1985, her focus was on keeping “a solid job” as a food server to provide for her young daughter and, later, her son.
Opportunities to become involved in public life felt out of reach.
Read more
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
on December 14, 2018
(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:
Read more
