Quick News

Chile is the country with the highest GDP per capita and Human Development Index in South America, yet it was one of the last countries to enact a gender quota law in the region. Though higher levels of economic development should be paired with greater gender parity, the reality is that Chile ranks 84th in the world in terms of the percentage of women in Congress, with just 23 percent in the Lower and Upper Houses.

"Less than three years after the 2016 presidential election, a pattern is already emerging. Once again, we’re seeing intelligent, qualified women candidates being snubbed by voters who can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea that a woman can be president."

"At a time when political tensions are high and the number of women in elected office is low, I asked Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, the hosts of the podcast Pantsuit Politics, for their takes on how partisanship and women’s representation influence one another. With Holland on the left side of the political spectrum and Silvers on the right, the show features what their website calls, “grace-filled political conversations.” Since Holland and Silvers have been talking politics (politely) on the air since November 2015, they seemed like the perfect people to ask about where our society’s political conversations are taking us in terms of women’s representation."

"The RepresentWomen team met with a group of politically engaged women from Indonesia this week. They were visiting the United States as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, which connects current and aspiring politicians abroad with their American counterparts. We were happy to sit down with these women to discuss women’s political participation and representation in our respective countries."

Love her or hate her, today Theresa May tendered her resignation to the Queen and stepped down as U.K. Prime Minister. With net favorability ratings in the U.K. lower than U.S. President Donald Trump, many people will celebrate her departure. But as a strong advocate for gender parity in the Conservative Party and a female head of government when the world is short quite a few, she should be missed.

"Perry’s campaign shows us that there are intelligent, qualified Republican women who have what it takes to run and win. But for these women to do so, the Republican Party, PACs, and donors must step up and support them."

"Being a politics major, most of the intellectual spaces available to me are dominated by men, so working with a team of driven and intelligent women at RepresentWomen is refreshing. I look forward to learning something new from all of them."

"Being a woman who wants to go into politics, I’ve always been acutely aware of the representation gap we face. However, I don’t think I truly saw all of the benefits increased representation can bring until this year."

"I remember that when I was in sixth grade, my teacher told me that I should stop being so “bossy”, otherwise people would not like me. After getting angry and complaining about why she didn’t say the same to the boys, one of my classmates called me a “feminist”. Neither of them meant those descriptions in a good way, obviously. The indignation I felt in that moment is something that has followed me throughout the years, motivating my decisions and actions. With time I learnt to not only appreciate the term “feminist”, but to use it as a banner."

"Being a female athlete all my life and now at the collegiate level, very few women have coached me. Yes, it is true that more and more women are coaching women, but people often forget that almost no women are coaching men. After playing basketball up until college, it had always stuck out to me is that there were little to none women coaching men’s basketball. In politics and athletics, there are too many firsts that have not occurred yet for women."