This week there was an interesting - if not somewhat familiar - piece in Vox by Sarah Kliff and Soo Oh - Why Aren't There More Women In Congress? which has very snazzy graphics but falls short of offering a robust set of solutions that address the panoply of structural and systemic obstacles to women's electoral success. The authors do conclude, however, with a key point that Representation2020 has been raising:

Greetings from the New Jersey Pine Barrens and cheers to all of you who are doing such terrific work! There are now 225 people on this list! I hope that you will send along any articles or info about events that you would like shared with the list - and I will add it to my end-of-the-week missive!

Annabelle Timsit writes a great piece for Politico entitled Women in Charge: A New Record?  that's an excellent look at women's executive leadership worldwide - she concludes:

Without structural changes to the ways in which women are recruited into politics—whether parliamentary quotas or more equitable funding regulations—women are likely to continue to lag behind men when it comes to running for office. A 2013 American University study, for instance, found that 63 percent of college women asked about potentially running for office one day said they had “never thought about it,” compared to 43 percent of college men polled.

What a couple weeks it has been! I wish I had time to report on all of the great events and progress at both of the conventions but I am rushing out of the office to hop on yet another flight! Many thanks for all of the fabulous receptions, events, panels, and meetings that you helped to organize or support from afar.

You need no reminder from me that this last week was particularly momentous with the nomination of Hilary Rodham Clinton as the first major-party presidential candidate. This week was also the 97th anniversary of Arkansas ratifying suffrage - what symmetry!

This week marked the 168th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women's Convention. I like to imagine the scene there on those hot days of July in upstate NY. The women in their long dresses and the men in their now-formal-looking attire rolling up their sleeves to write the Declaration of Sentiments and launch a movement for suffrage and equality. Frederick Douglass attended the sessions hosted by local Quakers whose homes were also used as stops on the Underground Railroad. Lucretia Mott's bold vision for equality and oratorical skills convinced many of those assembled to sign the Declaration.

Dear all,

One of the most (if not only?) upbeat stories of the week was the release of the new President and Vice President Barbie set. She Should Run teamed up with Barbie to send a clear message about women as leaders as Erin Loos Cutraro explains in a great piece in Fortune Why All the Women in Congress Are Getting Barbie Dolls Today.

Dear all,
The recent tumult in electoral outcomes and violence in our communities underscores for me the imperative of representative government. While it is not a salve for all the pain and hurt and fear swirling in and around our borders, I believe that a thriving democracy is an essential component of efforts to build a more just world.

Marie Wilson is author of the very timely Closing the Leadership Gap: Add Women, Change Everything - which makes a terrific graduation or Father's Day gift!

Dear all,
This was a momentous week for women's representation.

Dear all,
This week has been a busy one - wedged between one daughter's graduation from college, another daughter's graduation from high school, and my own 30th college reunion! I have had a flurry of terrific meetings and conversations with many of you and I am feeling hopeful.

Dear all,
The Washington Post waded into the thorny topic of gender bias in politics this week with a piece by Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless which draws from their new book Women on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a Polarized Era.