3.2021 On the Issues "From Filibuster to Representation: Is the Senate Broken"

This podcast from Ms. Magazine looks at the failings of the U.S. Senate including the design of the institution itself, which protects arcane rules and undemocratic processes. Is the Senate truly representative? Is the electoral system fair? Is it time to eliminate the electoral college? What other electoral reforms should we be considering? What does contemporary voter suppression look like?

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Teach others about the benefits of ranked choice voting!

Use our presentation on how ranked choice voting works and how it helps elect more women and other underrepresented groups to teach your community about the voting system. 

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In January of 2021 with women holding 27 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, the U.S. ranked 67th in the world for women’s representation in the lower house. Despite record-breaking election cycles the U.S. remains continually outpaced by 70+ countries including the majority of our democratic allies—allies that don’t have better women running, but better systems for women to run in and WIN. Ranked choice voting in multi-seat districts, commonly referred to as fair representation voting, is a form of proportional representation made to fit the United States’ electoral culture. The system combines the benefits for women found in both ranked choice voting and multi-member districts and corrects the problems of underrepresentation for communities of color which come with using multi-seat districts in a winner take all system. To normalize women leaders, and increase diversity in our politics. We need reform now.

RepresentWomen tracks women's representation and leadership in the United States and around the world to identify the "best practices" for creating a more representative government. Our research indicates that even as more women run, electoral rules and systems play a major role in determining electoral outcomes. As seen in both our 2016 and 2020 reports, we find that electoral outcomes for women and people of color are overall better in jurisdictions that have implemented ranked choice voting (RCV).

8.2020 Voices of Resilience "Voting Rights and Women in Politics with Cynthia Richie Terrell"

This podcast from Vital Voices highlights women leaders and change-makers from around the world. In this episode, join RepresentWomen's Founder and Executive Director, Cynthia Richie Terrell for a conversation about voter access and systems changes to improve gender balance and representation in politics. 

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7.2020 Pantsuit Politics "How To Be A Citizen: What's Next?"

In the final installment of the "How To Be A Citizen" series the Pantsuit Politics hosts look at the importance of structural reforms to address structural issues facing the United States. In this episode, they interview RepresentWomen Founder and Executive Director Cynthia Richie Terrell on the history of structural reforms in the U.S. and what we should do going forward. 

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7.2020 The Alliance Party After Dark 

This podcast from The Alliance Party discusses the work of RepresentWomen with Founder and Executive Director Cynthia Richie Terrell and the impact more women in political office could have.  

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Released: July 2020

Our 2020 ranked choice voting report, "In Ranked Choice Elections, Women WIN" provides a thorough review of ranked choice voting in the United States and how it is impacting women's representation in the cities that have implemented it. From 2010-2019, 19 cities and counties used ranked choice voting to elect their city officials, including 13 mayors and the city councilmembers in 14 jurisdictions. In that decade, women won 48% of all municipal elections.

Read Our 2020 Report

5.2020 WIPI Conversation with Katherine Gehl and Cynthia Richie Terrell

Women in Political Innovation was founded by Katherine Gehl in May 2019 with the goal of bringing together women working on politics at a systems and structural level. This podcast recorded during May 2020, is a conversation between WIPI Founder Katherine Gehl and RepresentWomen Founder and Executive Director Cynthia Richie Terrell. 

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Released: August 2016

In 2016, RepresentWomen (then known as Representation 2020) studied the impact of single-winner ranked choice voting in the California Bay Area (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Leandro), a "hotbed of RCV implementation," where over 100 ranked choice elections had taken place between 2004 and 2014 to decide local leadership in 53 offices. The study found that more women (42%) and people of color (60%) ran in and won these elections since ranked choice voting was introduced. By the start of 2016, women held 59% and people of color held 60% of these offices.

Read Our 2016 Report