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RepresentWomen

RepresentWomen

RepresentWomen is a research & advocacy hub focused on innovative systems strategies to advance women’s representation so more women run, win, serve, & lead!
Recruits
(15)
Nanette Sullivan Lauren Leader Brittany Stalsburg Jahtah Brown Hannah Rosenzweig Susanna Veevo Steph Scaglia Nicole Bailey Maria Perez Priya Elangovan Heidi Sieck Corinne Bennett Darci Larsen Ella Seltzer Cynthia Alvarez
About RepresentWomen
Take action on behalf of RepresentWomen
Goals
  • Total Recruits
    50
    15 collected! 30.0% of the goal
Recent Activity
  • Snapshot: Party Composition by Gender in the U.S. House of Representatives

    infogram_0_bb23b05c-6b78-40eb-ba6f-401819c57f472024 Gender & Party in Congress - RepresentWomenhttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?bsGtext/javascript

  • published Dashboard: GPI Scores 2013-2023 in Research 2023-10-24 20:37:26 -0400

    Dashboard: GPI Scores 2013-2023

    https://e.infogram.com/fad77bb9-af8c-4e91-b796-945617266905?src=embed2023 GPI History 2014 - 2023858955no0border:none;allowfullscreen

    Summary

    In August 2013, RepresentWomen launched the Gender Parity Index (GPI) to help researchers and advocates track progress toward gender-balanced governance and identify opportunities for increasing women’s political representation in the U.S. Each year, we assign all 50 states a Gender Parity Score, letter grade, and ranking according to their proximity to parity. One of the key takeaways from this exercise is that progress toward gender balance is slower and less stable than it first appears. 

    In the first Gender Parity Index, 40 states earned a “D” grade (< 25.0) or worse (< 10.0); the remaining ten states were split evenly between “Cs” (< 33.0) and “Bs” (< 50.0), and no state achieved an “A” (50.0 and above). Ten years later, Maine and Oregon have both achieved an “A” for the first time, 24 states are split evenly between “Bs” and “Cs,” 23 states have earned a “D,” and Louisiana is the only failing state. 

    In addition to releasing the 2023 Gender Parity Index, we have updated our GPI Score Dashboard to show how state scores have changed over time. This dashboard is an interactive tool. Click on the arrows or drop-down menu to navigate between each Gender Parity Map. Click on your state on the 2023 map to learn more about your state's score.  

    2023 Report 2023 Methodology 2023 Score Table 2023 State Pages 2013-2023 Dashboard

  • published Shareables: RCV + Representation Toolkit in Research 2023-08-31 15:16:49 -0400

    Shareables: RCV + Representation Toolkit

    RepresentWomen has complied some of our most salient resources to create our RCV + Representation Toolkit! This toolkit includes:

    • 2-pager Summaries
    • Data Visualization
    • Full-length research reports
    • And more!

    The aim is that this RCV + Representation Toolkit will equip you to speak more fluently and confidently to the benefits RCV has specifically on representation in your lobby and advocacy work.

    The target audience for this toolkit are individuals and organizations who are active in advancing RCV in their localities. 

     

    Download the RCV + Representation Toolkit 

     

    https://representwomen.app.box.com/embed/s/fwo1s8lqy3dtu63j333zec29swmvaewn?sortColumn=date8005500

  • Video: 2013 Gender Parity Index Launch Event

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Watch the Video

  • published Report: 2013/2014 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 23:31:29 -0400

    Report: 2013/2014 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • published Report: 2015 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 23:26:56 -0400

    Report: 2015 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • published Report: 2016 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 23:23:49 -0400

    Report: 2016 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • published Report: 2017 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 23:20:57 -0400

    Report: 2017 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • published Brief: Gender Quota Reform in Chile in Research 2023-06-14 22:34:37 -0400

    Brief: Gender Quota Reform in Chile

    Despite having one of the highest Human Development Indices among Latin American countries, Chile has one of the lowest percentages of women's representation in national government and it is one of the last countries to enact a gender quota law in the region. After the adoption of the gender quota law in 2015, social scientists and experts started to analyze the effectiveness of the law in increasing the number of women in politics. According to the new law, 40% of candidates on party ballots are required to be women and there must be enforcement mechanisms for the quota, such as economic incentives and retributions, to ensure an effective process of increasing women's political representation. 

    This report analyzes the gender quota law in Chile, including its adoption process, the role of the main actors, and the enforcement process. It equally analyzes the strengths of the gender quota law in Chile and the challenges faced by Chilean society in the implementation process. 

    Download Brief

  • Brief: Gender Quota Reform - a Situation Analysis of Latin America and the European Union

    This report covers a progression of gender quota reforms in Latin America and the EU member countries, which were at the forefront of adopting gender quota reforms through legislated quotas and voluntary party quotas that increased the proportion of women parliamentarians. The case of the European Union (EU) provides an opportunity to see an institutional approach to gender equality, whereas the Latin American countries illustrate the region's overall commitment to gender equality and women's political representation. This report includes the best practices and challenges faced by countries from both regions but focuses on the role of quotas as enforcement mechanisms for women's political representation. 

    Download Brief

  • Report: International Women's Representation

    Progress toward gender parity in elected office in the United States has been slow, especially in comparison to other nations. Most countries that rank above the United States for women's political representation have adopted recruitment rules and voting systems that level the playing field for women candidates. When examining these other countries, it is clear that reaching gender parity in elected and appointed office requires intentional action and policy reform. 

    Download Report

  • Report: Why Rules and Systems Matter Lessons from Around the World

    Women won a record number of races in the November 2018 midterm elections and now hold 102 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which tracks women's representation in national legislatures, the U.S. now ranks 77th in the world for women in politics; in 1998, the U.S. ranked 60th. The U.S. ranks further behind the rest of the world than it did 20 years ago - even with significant gains for women - because other nations have adopted recruitment practices and voting systems that create more opportunities for women to run, win, serve, and lead. 

    Download Report

  • published Report: 2018 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 21:59:21 -0400

    Report: 2018 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • published Brief: U.S. House Expansion in Research 2023-06-14 21:36:54 -0400

    Brief: U.S. House Expansion

    A thriving democracy is within our reach, but we must ensure that women across the racial, ideological, and geographic spectrum of the United States have equal opportunities to enter political office so that our nation's rich diversity is reflected in our government. 

    This brief will discuss the history of U.S. House expansion, the arguments for increasing the size of the House, and the impact House expansion can have on improving descriptive representation in the United States. 

    Download Brief

  • published Report: 2020 Gender Parity Index in Research 2023-06-14 21:27:53 -0400

    Report: 2020 Gender Parity Index

    To quantify progress towards gender parity in elected and appointed office, RepresentWomen developed the Gender Parity Index (GPI). Each year, a Gender Parity Score and grade is calculated for each of the 50 states and for the United States as a whole. The Gender Parity Score reflects women's recent electoral successes at the local, state, and national levels on a scale of 0 (if no women were elected to any offices) to 100 (if women held all elected offices). The key advantage of the GPI is that it enables comparisons to be made over time and among states. 

    Download Report

  • Brief: Seat-by-Seat: Building the Case for a Gender-Balanced Cabinet

    A thriving democracy is within our reach, but we must ensure that women across the racial, ideological, and geographic spectrum of the United States have equal opportunities to enter political office so that our nation's rich diversity is reflected in our government. 

    This brief will discuss the importance of appointing women to executive cabinets, their historical lack of representation, and the impact these positions have on policymaking. 

    Download Brief

  • Report: Best Practices for Promoting Gender Balanced Appointments

    RepresentWomen is a research-based advocacy group that promotes the use of systems strategies to advance women's representation and leadership in the U.S. and around the world. To achieve our mission, RepresentWomen partners with allies across the country and political spectrum who help amplify our work by putting what we've researched into practice. By working in concert with our allies to address the barriers to office, we can ensure that more women RUN, WIN, SERVE, and LEAD. 

    To inform our own programming on advancing gender-balanced appointments and to establish a scalable, replicable, transformative model for advancing gender-balanced appointments, RepresentWomen gathered learnings from five similar initiatives around the country. 

    Download Report

  • Snapshot: International Women's Representation in 2003 and 2023

    infogram_0_da5dead0-809c-4ac4-b1d0-e2b17bfd41e92023 Int&amp;#39;l Snapshot - 2003 v 2023https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?1hjtext/javascript

     

    These two charts show that although women have made gains in terms of political representation, progress has been slow and incremental. Without systems-level and candidate-level changes being implemented in tandem, it is unlikely we will see gender-balanced governance within our lifetimes. 

    Notably, in 2023 less than 10 countries have achieved gender parity. 

  • published Snapshot: International Voting Systems in Research 2023-03-09 10:39:56 -0500

    Snapshot: International Voting Systems

    infogram_0_54035514-2478-4afa-93a6-bd741c177ec12023 Int&amp;#39;l Snapshot - World Maphttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?nICtext/javascript

    This map shows the different voting systems used across the world.
    • Proportional (PR) systems represent subgroups according to a party or candidate's vote share.
    • Semi-Proportional (Semi-PR) systems combine elements of proportional and plurality-majority systems. Semi-PR systems are often more representative than non-PR systems because they ensure that political minorities are at least somewhat represented. 
    • Plurality-Majority systems allow the candidate with the most votes to win, no matter how slim the margin.

    Voting systems are the rules and procedures that determine how people are elected. Each system informs how ballots are designed, how people cast their votes, how the results are counted, and how the winners are determined. The type of voting system can greatly impact voter turnout, the role of political parties, candidate engagement, and representation in government. 

    To read more about the voting systems used around the world, see our International Voting Systems Memo

  • published 2023 Women Elected with RCV Survey 2023-01-23 10:05:11 -0500

    2023 Women Elected with Ranked Choice Voting Survey

    Thank you for taking the time to fill out this quick survey to help us get to know you and your experience with RCV! This should take about 10 minutes to complete.

    Take the survey