Dear readers,

There is a lot going on this week from changes in leadership in the UK & women's representation in China, to new research from VoteRunLead on women's representation in state legislatures, to the demographics of women candidates from Open Secrets, to the barriers women face as elected officials, and mounting evidence of the need for & impact of ranked choice voting. And just over two weeks to the midterm elections....

Dear readers,

As elections draw closer, I am excited to see not just the women who will come out victorious this year, but also where ranked choice voting will win. Voter registration deadlines are approaching in many states, with some already having passed, so make sure you check when your state's deadline is and spread the word! 

Dear advocates for equality,

In a little more than a month, we will know how many women get elected to Congress, to statewide executive offices, to state legislative seats, and to local positions across these United States. We will also see the results for ballot measures for ranked choice voting in Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Maine, and Portland, Ore. Evanston, & other jurisdictions. We’ll also learn the outcomes for women who are ranked choice voting champions like Kate Stewart who is running for county council in Montgomery County, MD and Representative Mary Peltola who is running for a full term in Alaska. Of course there is a lot at stake in this election so I hope that you are making plans to vote on or before Nov. 8!

Dear readers,

I hope you've had a great week! The primaries are now officially over, which means as of today there are just 38 days until the midterm election on November 8th. Our team is excited to track the women candidates for this cycle as we go into the general election. Now seeing the number of women who made it through the primaries and that many records were not broken this year like they were in the last 4 years, we are reminded of the need for better reforms to our electoral system to help women not just run for office, but to actually win these elections.

Dear readers,

This week RepresentWomen hosted an event with women leaders in New York including The New Majority NYC Executive Director Jessica Haller, Representative Chantel Jackson from NY's 79th district, former speaker of the NYC Council Melissa Mark-Viverito, and current NYC Councilwomen Amanda Farias & Althea Stevens. Speakers discussed the Why Women Won in 2021 RCV in NYC Report and how a twin-track approach helped dramatically increase women's representation! We will be posting the recording of the event to our YouTube channel soon! The articles for this week were found by our Outreach Associate Alissa Bombardier Shaw and Research Associate Steph Scaglia.

Dear readers,

From sports, to TV, to government; this week was chock full of updates on women's representation. The RepresentWomen team is excited to bring you all the latest news rundown while I have been working hard during my travels. The team has been getting ready to release our Ranked Choice Voting in NYC Report and we cannot wait for you all to read it soon!

Dear readers,

We here at RepresentWomen hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend! It has been quite the busy summer for women's representation and our team has been hard at work preparing reports, connecting with women in the democracy reform movement in the United States and internationally, and preparing for upcoming events. Check out our Instagram for a quick recap of what our team was up to this August!

Dear readers,

Happy Friday! We hope you have been having a lovely summer and staying cool. I'm not sure about you, but I was waiting anxiously on Wednesday night for Alaska's ranked-choice voting election results to come in! It's been so encouraging to see how many Alaskans found it was easy to use ranked choice voting and great to see the state elect its first woman to the House of Representatives - thanks in part to RCV. More on that below. Here is this week's run down on women's representation.

Thanks to Erin Vilardi and her team at VoteRunLead for these great graphics and for providing a 21st century frame - and rallying call - to Women's Equality Day commemorations!

Women's Equality Day was established in 1973 by Congress - at the request of Representative Bella Abzug - to commemorate passage of the 19th Amendment. Efforts to elevate the importance of women's equality help to change the narrative about the importance of women's equality, but as Erin Vilardi, CEO of VoteRunLead writes, we must move from recognizing the importance of women's equality to embracing the imperative for women's leadership:

Dear readers,

Happy Friday! This edition is being brought to you by the RepresentWomen team, reporting on the latest in women’s representation, while Cynthia catches up on her summer reading on the beach in the Yucatan!