Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!
This week’s Weekend Reading covers the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president of Mexico, the need for bipartisan investment in gender parity, supporting Black women in politics, a new report from the Vote Mama Foundation, and an interview about women’s representation in Pennsylvania that features our research director Courtney Lamendola.
This week was also the only vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance, providing voters with a chance to hear from a candidate who could eventually become our government’s second-in-command. As election season heats up, I encourage you to obtain your news and election information from trusted, verified sources.
Mexico Inaugurates First Female President, Claudia Sheinbaum, as Women Lead Key Institutions in the Country
This week, Mexico inaugurated its first woman president, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum. However, the presidency isn’t the only key position of power held by women in Mexico. Half of Sheinbaum’s Cabinet are women, and both Congress and key institutions like the Supreme Court and the Central Bank are headed by women.
Their leadership reflects the success of policies and reforms that break down the barriers to women’s participation in a male-dominated political system.
Mary Beth Sheridan and Valentina Muñoz Castillo in The Washington Post highlight gender representation in Mexico:
MEXICO CITY — Mexico inaugurated its first female president on Tuesday, reaching the milestone before its northern neighbor. Even if the United States elects Kamala Harris as president in November, it will lag well behind this traditionally macho country on broader gender parity.
The new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will govern with a cabinet that is half female and a Congress evenly divided between men and women. Women head the Supreme Court and central bank and run top federal ministries.
Mexico has become a global leader in gender parity thanks to aggressive laws establishing quotas for women in politics and government. They have had dramatic impact. Mexico’s legislature ranks fourth in the world for female representation, while the United States is No. 70 — just behind Iraq — according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Advancing Global Women’s Representation
Greetings from Athens, Greece—the birthplace of democracy. This week, I had the honor of presenting at the annual Athens Democracy Forum alongside Australian ambassador to Greece, Bulgaria and Romania Alison Duncan; Susannah Wellford, CEO and founder of Running Start and RepresentWomen board member; and Jennifer Piscopo, professor of gender and politics at Royal Holloway University of London.
Our discussion highlighted the various voting systems used internationally—particularly proportional representation, which empowers voters and elects more women. I had a fantastic time connecting with individuals from around the world to discuss ways to enhance women’s representation.
Our recent brief on gender parity in the European Union highlighted a significant gender gap. Despite being a global leader in women’s rights, none of the 27 EU member states have achieved true gender parity in their parliaments. Those countries that have made the most progress—scoring 30 percent or higher—have employed a combination of list proportional representation and gender quotas. These strategies have proven effective in empowering women and ensuring their representation in government.
While the EU Parliament has seen progress, with female representation increasing from 16 percent in 1979 to 39 percent today, there’s still much work to be done.
Systems like gender quotas and proportional representation can make a real difference in advancing women’s political participation. We must advocate for similar reforms in the United States to ensure that our government reflects the diversity of our population.
The theme of this year’s Athens Democracy Forum is “A Moment of Truth,” addressing issues such as misinformation, disinformation, AI, conspiracy theories, and the importance of respectful and honest debates.
Introducing a New Declaration of Sentiments at Virtual, Modern Seneca Falls: Oct. 24
Join us on Oct. 24 from 2- 3:30 p.m. EST for our 21st Century Seneca Falls Virtual Town Hall! This event aims to bring the pioneering spirit of the original Seneca Falls Convention into the 21st century with a new Declaration of Sentiments and a virtual town hall.
By working together, we can ensure that more women run and win at all levels of government. You will get firsthand testimony from women leaders, elected officials and advocates who will speak on the importance of representation and systems strategies that support women seeking elected office.
Exploring Gender Parity in Pennsylvania
Our Gender Parity Index has shown a history of low-ranking scores in Pennsylvania—this year it received a D. Pennsylvania has never elected a woman governor or senator, and only 32 percent of seats in the state legislature are currently held by women, regardless of party affiliation.
Research director Courtney Lamendola was featured in this article highlighting ways the Keystone State can elect more women and improve its overall proximity to gender parity. Like so many states, more systemic reforms must be enacted to create a pipeline of women interested in running for and winning public elections.
Zoe Greenberg and Julia Terruso of The Philadelphia Inquirer write:
Since then, for 298 years and counting, Pennsylvania has never again had a female leader; voters have never elected a woman as governor or as U.S. senator. The question in this heated election season is whether Pennsylvania’s lacking record offers clues — or warning signs — about the state’s current willingness to elect the nation’s first female president.
“Pennsylvania is a solidly D-range state,” said Courtney Lamendola, the director of research at RepresentWomen, which publishes an annual gender parity index. Before 2019, Pennsylvania regularly ranked 49th in gender parity nationwide.
Achieving Bipartisan Gender Parity Has Stalled in the 2024 Election
For gender parity to be achieved in the United States, more women from across the political spectrum must run for public office. Our 2024 Gender Parity Index has found that even a slight decrease in women running for office can profoundly affect a state’s proximity to gender parity in the future—like in Vermont. Women make up over 50 percent of the U.S. population but hold under one-third of all elected positions. More investments must be made to create a pipeline of women who can run and win elections nationwide.
Meredith Conroy in ABC News writes:
As they have for several decades now, Democrats are nominating many more women than Republicans are in their party’s primaries. And what happens in the primaries doesn’t stay in the primaries. These lopsided primary results for women will likely contribute to a growing disparity between the parties’ female representation in Congress and governors’ mansions: Democratic women currently make up 41 percent and Republican women make up just 15 percent of their respective parties’ members of Congress, and eight of the 12 female governors currently serving are Democrats. After the November elections, these gaps could widen…
That discrepancy this cycle is even larger when it comes to outcomes, or the share of women winning their primaries to become their party’s general election nominees: Among certified primary winners, women make up nearly half (46 percent) of Democratic nominees but just 16 percent of Republican nominees. That represents a 3-percentage-point increase among Democrats over 2022 — women made up 43 percent of their nominees last cycle — and a 4-point decrease among Republicans — women made up 20 percent of their 2022 nominees.
Alabama Lags as Only State Without Legislators Who Are Mothers of School-Age Children
A new report by the Vote Mama Foundation reveals that Alabama is the only state without any legislators who are mothers of school-age children. Sen. Merika Coleman, who had young children when she was first elected in 2002, expressed disappointment at the lack of progress in Alabama and encouraged more women with children to run for office. Political representation by mothers is crucial for developing policies that address the needs of American families, especially as modern challenges like rising childcare costs and inflation intensify.
Last week, some of the RepresentWomen attended “The Politics of Parenthood” launch event at the Library of Congress. We heard fascinating insights from representative Jennifer McClellan, Vote Mama CEO Liuba Grechen Shirley, and RW’s National Partnerships Manager Victoria Pelletier.
Jemma Stephenson from the Alabama Reflector reports:
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper, wrote in a Wednesday statement that young women and mothers are vital to Alabama’s future and there is a place for them in policy making. He wrote that they worked on a number of items that affect young women and mothers.
“It is important for our state’s future that their voices and considerations are not only heard but that they also have a place at the table when legislative decisions are being made,” he wrote.
Hague said that more women are elected within the Democratic Party but moms represent about a quarter of all women elected in both parties.
“I think that the real core of this is that parental struggles are universal,” she said. “Parents in both parties right now are being failed by our policies, and I think that with the national narrative around even just the definition of mother right now, we’re finding that families are motivated to participate in politics because they’re just trying to get by and they want policies that accurately reflect their needs.”
Hague said that their data shows that political representation increases with the age of their kids. She said that circumstances in which families are raising their children are changing so quickly, though, that it’s important to have current moms to young kids as part of the process.
Black Women in Politics: MSNBC Special Highlights the Power and Challenges Ahead of the 2024 Election
MSNBC hosted a special titled “Black Women in America: The Road to 2024,” which focused on the critical influence of Black women in American politics as the 2024 election approaches. Hosted by Symone Sanders-Townsend and Melissa Murray, the program featured interviews with notable figures like Kerry Washington and Donna Brazile, who discussed the mobilization and strategies of Black women voters. The special showcases the role of Black women as community leaders, emphasizing the emotional and cultural challenges they face.
Our “Breaking Barriers for Black Women Candidates” brief highlights the barriers Black women face when running for and serving in elected office.
Melissa Noel from Essence reports:
The special also contextualizes these reflections within a larger narrative of systemic challenges Black women continue to face. Whether it’s in the political arena or their personal lives, the struggle for equity and recognition persists. This is a battle that Sanders-Townsend has experienced firsthand in her career as a political strategist, particularly in her fomer role as a senior advisor and spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The special follows MSNBC’s earlier February 2024 program, “Black Men in America: The Road to 2024,” which focused on the role of Black men in shaping the election. This time, the emphasis is on the backbone of political movements in America: black women.
The upcoming special will delve into Black women’s political engagement, examining the emotional and cultural labor they undertake in this crucial arena. This narrative positions them not just as voters but as pivotal architects shaping the future of American democracy. It’s undoubtedly timely, with only about a month until Election Day.
Ranked Choice Voting Act Webinar: Oct. 8 with Rep. Jamie Raskin
I will be speaking about the recently-introduced Ranked Choice Voting Act alongside Meredith Sumpter (CEO of FairVote), Eileen Reavey (deputy director of Rank The Vote), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 11:30am ET. Use this link to register and join the conversation.
Majority Rules Webinar: Oct. 9 with Alaska Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel
I will also be speaking about the terrific new documentary Majority Rules that chronicles the campaign for, and use of, ranked-choice voting and open primaries in Alaska—fellow participants include Alaska Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, FairVote CEO Meredith Sumpter, and filmmaker AJ Schnack—on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 5pm ET. Use this link to register and join the conversation.
And if you can’t join either of these webinars you can listen in to my recent conversation with David Nevins, president of the Bridge Alliance and publisher of The Fulcrum, on CityBiz—in which I muse on the state of women’s representation, reform strategies, and my vision for a healthy and functional democracy.
Washington Post Endorses Ranked-Choice Voting Ballot Measures
It was heartening to read the Washington Post editorial board’s endorsement of all the ranked-choice voting measures that are on the ballot this year across the country. While RCV won’t fix every problem, I agree with the Post: “There is no one trick to fix American democracy—but implementing ranked-choice voting in primary and general elections around the country could help. This reform is on the ballot in several states this year, as well as in D.C. It deserves to pass.”
Change is in the air this fall and it smells sweet!
Cast Your Vote on the Tastiest Global Cuisine
One of my favorite parts of traveling is the variety of food I get to eat! What is your favorite global cuisine? Let us know with this ranked-choice voting poll.
Flowers for Fannie Lou: Oct. 5 in Prattville, Ala.
Saturday, Oct. 5, is the community event Flowers for Fannie Lou, hosted by Freedom Farm Azul in Prattville, Ala.! We are honored to co-sponsor this day of community, activism, and inspiration. Celebrate Fannie Lou Hamer’s legacy at Flowers for Fannie Lou, an event honoring the life and legacy of a trailblazer whose unwavering commitment to social justice continues to ignite movements for equality and community empowerment. Tickets are still available!
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