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 women’s representation from this week.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday June, 30th, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the land. As this story in The New York Times notes, Judge Jackson is the 116th justice to serve on the Court but only the 6th woman to do so:

On Friday, June 24th, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the decision made in Roe v Wade, meaning abortions are no longer protected at the federal level. States will now determine whether or not abortions are legal, with some states issuing bans immediately after the SCOTUS decision was issued.

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, and fair representation.

In contrast to the recent setbacks for gender balance on corporate boards in California, officials in the European Union decided this week to require that an "underrepresented gender" fill at least 40% of non-executive board seats by July 1, 2026.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX that prohibited sex-based discrimination in any educational program that receives financial support from the federal government. Adoption of Title IX has increased opportunities for women and girls in academic settings but there has been mixed success for women & girls in sports according to this story in FiveThirtyEight by Neil Paine:

I struggled this week to find an appropriate story and image to lead with given the killing of children in Texas that follows so closely on the heels of the shooting at the grocery store in Buffalo and so many other senseless deaths due to gun-related violence. While there are undoubtedly many factors that are driving young men to commit these heinous acts of violence it's clear that our antiquated voting system & gridlock in Congress prevent action on gun safety that the majority of Americans support.

I am back in the Bay Area this week meeting with other supporters of proportional voting to discuss strategies to modernize U.S. House elections with ranked choice voting in districts that elect 3 or more people.

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This week we are celebrating AAPI women leaders and exploring AAPI women's representation. While numbers vary, multiple sources suggest that about 6% of Americans identify as AAPI. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, AAPI women hold the following offices:

Campaign-funded childcare addresses barriers that women face in politics. It levels the playing field so more women can run, and if combined with structural reform like ranked choice voting and legislative rule changes that modernize government work places, more women can win and lead. This could lead to important policies like universal affordable childcare and paid leave.