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

In 2022, we released an interactive dashboard to present the latest data on women's representation in ranked choice cities. In addition to providing summary data on where ranked choice voting (RCV) is used and its impact on local representation, the RCV Dashboard includes updated case studies on the impact of ranked voting on women's representation in Cambridge, New York City, the Bay Area, and Utah.

infogram_0_f45a9b75-7958-4bcd-b51b-adb30abd22e42022 RCV Dashboardhttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?wyMtext/javascript

Updated: January 2023

The following memo presents an update to our 2020 analysis of voting systems in the U.S. and their impact on women’s representation. 

Overall, we have found that women continue to fare better in jurisdictions that use ranked choice voting than in cities with plurality voting systems. Of the 30 cities that use ranked choice voting to elect their executives (mayors), 12 (40%) are currently represented by women. In the 41 cities that use ranked choice voting to elect their legislatures (councils, boards), almost half of all electeds (137 of 282, or 49%) are women.

RCV remains one of the most promising tools for advancing women’s representation in the United States.

For more information about our work and the resources we provide, please contact our team at [email protected].

Released: January 23, 2023

View the Memo 

infogram_0_64f2fd7b-0525-4e8c-b446-0e9c719ddb6f2023 RCV Day Infographichttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?84ftext/javascript

infogram_0_9ff3aa29-63a3-4518-b385-3c40b74bfc0b2023 RCV Mayors Snapshot - Genderhttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?2Lgtext/javascript

infogram_0_2d513270-39fe-4482-a77d-f5e1fd3f88942023 RCV Council Snapshot - Genderhttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?UsWtext/javascript

Released: November 2022

In 2022, we released a follow-up to our report on women's representation in New York City, “Why Women Won in 2021.” In the report, we expand upon and re-evaluate our findings by researching 1) women’s representation in the next-largest cities in the U.S., and 2) which of the factors we observed in NYC are also present in these cities. The report concludes with a list of guiding takeaways,  aimed at changemakers interested in bringing the best practices and strategies that worked in New York City to other major cities. 

View the Report 

Released: September 2022

In 2022, we released a report on the outcome of the 2021 elections in New York City. RepresentWomen partnered with The New Majority NYC (formerly 21 in '21) to study 1) the impact of term limits, matching funds, ranked choice voting, and candidate-focused strategies on women's representation, 2) how these factors worked together to bring NYC a majority-women council for the first time in history, and 3) what it will take to maintain and build upon this success story in the future. 

View the Report Executive Summary

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. 

The 2022 Gender Parity Index

As of June 2022, there are 147 (28%) women in Congress: 24 in the Senate and 123 in the House. In 333 statewide elective executive offices, 101 (30%) are either led or co-led by women. Of 7,383 seats in state legislatures, women hold 2,295 (31%). At the local level, 367 (25%) of 1,465 cities are represented by women, and 80 (33%) of the five largest county governments in each state are either led or co-led by women.

And yet, overall progress towards parity is frustratingly incremental in the U.S. In 2022, the average parity score is 24.8. If we round up, this brings us to an average score of 25 out of 100, which means we are halfway to parity. In 2021, the average score was 24.6; two years ago, it was 23.8.

2022 Report Methodology Score Chart State-by-State Graphics

Based on a survey of about 40 allies and partners in 2021, we found that allies and RCV advocates are most interested in:

• 2 and 1-pager Summaries
• Data Visualization
• Full-length research reports
• Best practices guides for advancing and adopting RCV: Coming Soon!

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

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

Download the RCV Equip Toolkit