Dear Readers,

This week's celebration of the 247th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence is a reminder that the United States was founded on the idea that political power comes from the people, not a monarch. While this idea was revolutionary in 1776, the majority of people living in the fledgling nation had little to no say in government -- despite Abigail Adams' plea to "remember the ladies." RepresentWomen imagines a democracy where everyone has a seat at the decision-making table. This week's Weekend Reading features stories about American democracy and the strategies necessary to realize John Adams' dream of government being a "portrait of the people in miniature."

Dear Readers,

This Tuesday, New York City held ranked choice voting primary elections for the city council. As of June 28, preliminary results have been released – 30 women incumbents won their primaries. In this low-turnout, off-year election, some key races were District 1 and District 9. In District 1, current Councilmember Christopher Marte beat his two more moderate woman challengers, Susan Lee and Ursila Jung. In District 9, where current Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan did not run for reelection, Yusef Saleem of the Exonerated Central Park 5 holds the lead over Inez Dickens.  

A woman-majority council in New York continues due to electoral system reforms and qualified women candidates. But New York is not the only place that recognizes the critical role of systems reforms in electing women. This week Melinda French Gates wrote a seminal article about the urgent need for women's representation in politics. She observes that empowering women to run for public office within the broken system is insufficient. "Ultimately though, we can’t just keep pushing women into a broken system: We need to fix the system, addressing the full range of structural barriers that keep our government from looking like the people it’s intended to serve." Addressing the multitude of institutional obstacles women encounter when running for office is essential.

RepresentWomen is grateful to Melinda French Gates for her commitment to building women's political power and to Pivotal Ventures for supporting our work.

If you haven't already, check out our 2022 Report: Why Women Won in 2021, which explores the factors that led to a woman-majority council in New York City.

Dear Readers,

A new article from Quartz by Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza discusses the feminist outcomes of a four-day workweek. As the concept enters mainstream white-collar jobs, more people have been reporting on the benefits they feel. The RepresentWomen staff is three weeks into our Summer Fridays pilot program. Four-day weeks have been used to provide flexibility to our team. While efforts to alleviate gender inequality such as four-day workweeks exist, progress remains slow. With student loan payments resuming, a new UN report, and an article from the UVA Center for Politics, it’s clear that gender equality and fair representation are still far from reach.

Dear Readers,

Happy Pride Month! This week's Weekend Reading covers the good news and bad news surrounding women and underrepresented communities.

Dear Readers,

What an amazing week for women's representation! This week's Weekend Reading features stories of women's wins and journeys to elected office in the United States and abroad. RepresentWomen will be excited to see what these women do next.

Dear Readers,

Happy May! This week, RepresentWomen covers stories of women's wins and setbacks in politics and leadership.

Dear Readers,

As April ends, RepresentWomen highlights current events and new findings concerning women's political representation and gender equality.

Dear Readers --

As threats to women rise in the country, RepresentWomen examines the progress and setbacks women in public office face around the globe.

Dear Readers,

As we continue to fight for gender parity in politics, RepresentWomen focuses on women leaders worldwide. This week's Weekend Reading features elections, systemic changes, and what they mean for women.

Dear Readers,

Last week, RepresentWomen's research team released a memo entitled “Voting Systems and Women’s Representation: Lessons from Around the World and the Case for Proportional Ranked Choice Voting in the United States.” Many thanks to Courtney Lamendola, Fatma Tawfik, Marvelous Maeze, Steph Scaglia, and our terrific interns for pulling together this critical update to our work on international voting systems and how they affect women’s representation.