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Pages tagged "Topic:Weekend Reading"

Weekend Reading on Women's Representation August 12, 2022

Dear readers,

Happy Friday! This edition is brought to you by the RepresentWomen team, here to give you all the latest in women’s representation.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation August 5, 2022

Katie Usalis, Rep Dotie Joseph (FL), Cynthia Terrell, Michelle Whittaker and daughter London at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.
 
Dear advocates for gender-balanced representation,
Primary wins for women made the headlines this week along with a big win for reproductive rights in Kansas. The vote to affirm the right to abortion in Kansas illustrates the quagmire of our antiquated voting system that protects incumbents and elects representatives who do not reflect majority opinion. Switching from winner-take-all, single winner districts, to electing House members with proportional ranked choice voting -- aka the Fair Representation Act -- would yield a Congress and state legislatures that are much more representative of all voters. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM) became the first woman sponsor of the Fair Representation Act this week which is very exciting!
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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation July 29, 2022

Most U.S. States Get a "D" for Women's Representation

Dear fans of gender balance in politics,

Many thanks to RepresentWomen research director Courtney Lamendola who worked with her terrific team to release the 2022 Gender Parity Index this week.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation July 22, 2022

174 Years of Work for Women's Equality in the United States

Dear supporters of women's equality,
This week marks the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention that was held over the course of several hot summer days in upstate New York 174 years ago. While there has been clear progress toward women's equality over the many years since the Declaration of Sentiments was issued, many legal, social, and political barriers still exist. RepresentWomen associate Alissa Bombardier-Shaw writes about the gathering on DemocracySoS:
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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation July 8, 2022

Best Practices for Promoting Gender Balanced Cabinets

Dear fans of gender balance in politics, in anticipation of the 36 states and 3 U.S. territories that are holding gubernatorial elections this year, RepresentWomen released a report: Gender Balanced Cabinets: Where We Stand & Why It Matters and a brief on the Best Practices for Promoting Gender Balanced Appointments.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation July 1, 2022

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
 
Dear women's representation advocates,
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:

Ketanji Brown Jackson took the judicial oath just after noon on Thursday, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Justice Jackson, 51, was confirmed in April, when the Senate voted 53 to 47 on her nomination. She is replacing Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 83, who stepped down with the conclusion of the court’s current term.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation June 24, 2022

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.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation June 17, 2022

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. 
The purpose of the Summit was to elevate women's voices in the democracy reform ecosystem, build community across issue silos, and provide advocates with specific recommendations about how to get involved. 
This week the team at RepresentWomen released a comprehensive Take Action Resource Guide that includes links for how all of us can get involved and help to build a 21st century democracy:

The Solutions Summit culminated in the creation of a resource guide of take-action items that were identified throughout the course of the Summit. The guide includes suggestions of practical ways to help combat systemic representation inequalities in politics, links to sign up for volunteering and advocacy efforts, and a variety of further readings and resources to take the next step in learning about the various issues discussed at the summit. Additionally, it highlights the female changemakers who spoke about each issue at the summit and provides links to further background about each speaker.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation June 10, 2022

"After 10 years, since the European Commission proposed this directive, it is high time we break the glass ceiling," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. [European Union, 2022]

 
Dear fans of women's 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. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been pushing for this agreement for a decade according to this piece on Euroactiv:
 

EU lawmakers on Tuesday (7 June) agreed on a continental target to establish better gender balance on the boards of companies in Europe.

Negotiators from the EU member states and European Parliament said they found common ground on a proposal that was first made by the European Commission, the EU’s executive, in 2012.

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Weekend Reading on Women's Representation June 3, 2022

Stamps issued by the United States Postal Service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX
 
Dear fans of gender balance in politics,
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:

The historical impact of Title IX extends far beyond the reaches of sports. The landmark legislation, which prohibited sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools and education programs, was passed 50 years ago this month. It coincided with enormous growth in educational attainment for American women1 and has been applied toward reducing sexual violence on campus and promoting transgender rights in recent years. But athletics have been at the center of Title IX from the very beginning. (Even the fight around it used sports as a battleground: Witness the early attempt by Sen. John Tower of Texas to exempt high-profile men’s sports from counting toward Title IX compliance.)2 Title IX challenged the long-standing notion that sports belonged to men — and men only. And its effects were felt both in the short term and over the half-century that has followed.

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