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 our 2024 Declaration of Sentiments, the need for bipartisan solutions in state government, reforming the electoral college, historic elections in Canada, declining women executives in the U.K., and the Indian Women’s Reservation Act. (And if you are interested in the recent panel discussion that RepresentWomen organized at the Athens Democracy Forum earlier this month you can watch the recording here.)
Women Are Essential to Democracy: Our 2024 Declaration of Sentiments
“We believe embracing the diversity of perspectives and lived experiences that women bring to the political arena is not just a matter of fairness but a crucial step toward building a more effective and robust democracy. The majority of Americans agree, and they also believe our country would be better served if more women held political offices.”
The above paragraph is taken from our 2024 Declaration of Sentiments, a reimagining of the original Declaration of Sentiments produced at the first Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This convention, the first of its kind, took a bold stance on the role of women in the United States.
“As historical and groundbreaking as the Convention was, it does not come without heavy critique. We’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the lack of intersectionality between white women and women of color during the convention and the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Black women, in particular, were not only absent but intentionally excluded from the monumental assembly that was held nearly 13 years before the American Civil War.”
—Excerpt from ‘”Invisible Heroes: The Erasure of Black Women at Seneca Falls,” an op-ed written by Tamaya Dennard, Marvelous Maeze, Victoria Pelletier and Ashley Thurston
On Thursday, Oct. 24, we brought this historic event into the modern age with our 21st Century Seneca Falls Virtual Town Hall. A lively group came together to discuss the state of women’s representation in the United States and the crucial need for more women at all levels of government. All attendees reaffirmed the contributions, diverse perspectives, and unique lived experiences women bring to the political arena that are vital to our democracy. Our featured speakers included:
- CATHY GIESSEL, Alaska state Senate president
- JACKIE HOPE GLASS, Virginia delegate
- AMANDA FARIAS, New York City Council majority leader
- ERIN VILARDI, founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead Action
- RHYANE WAGNER, senior policy manager of Black Voters Matter
- JENNIFER PIEROTTI LIM, executive director of Republican Women for Progress
- TAMAYA DENNARD, RepresentWomen state partnerships manager
New York City Majority Leader Amanda Farias said it best:
“Women’s representation in government is not just a numbers game. It’s a matter of justice and functioning government. Our voices are vital in shaping policies that affect our communities, from healthcare to education, from housing to public safety.”
The community built by the audience, though, is what made this event truly special. People from across the country, from every age group, from various professional backgrounds, and with varying political affiliations came together to discuss the future of American politics in 2028 and beyond.
Women are an essential part of American democracy and advancing systems reform in our country.
We are still collecting signatures for our 2024 Declaration of Sentiments. As Election Day approaches, please share this pledge with your network, allies, collaborators, friends, and family to strengthen the movement for women’s equality, representation and leadership.
The Need for Bipartisanship at All Levels of Government
Our political system needs reform to increase women’s representation in office. However, achieving this goal is hindered by single-party systems in many states. But with 82 percent of Americans living in communities where a single political party controls their entire state government, bipartisan lawmaking is becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon, leading to a distinctive split in the laws passed in state legislatures depending on the political party at the top of the ticket.
This partisan divide in many states has led to increased voter apathy, low voter turnout, increased ballot measures and distrust of electoral politics.
Mary Ellen Klas and Carolyn Silverman for Bloomberg Opinion write:
So, how do we ensure that states wield power responsibly and legislate in a way that reflects the majority in all states and not a small hyper-partisan minority? It starts with restoring competitiveness to state elections and removing the intentional barriers to competition. Voters who feel powerless and disenfranchised are less likely to be engaged which can further fuel uncompetitive elections. Every statehouse member should feel the heat of being challenged every election. Legislators who aren’t held to account can ignore the public will, encouraging minority rule and, inevitably, disenchantment with the ideas that have held America together.
States should enact redistricting reforms that diminish partisan bias, such as enacting non-partisan and independent commissions with the power to redraw political boundaries. That is how Michigan went from one of the most gerrymandered states in the country a decade ago to one in which the close partisan edge in the state legislature now reflects the popular vote. Ohio is voting on a similar measure this year…
Other ideas include inspiring people to run for office with public campaign financing and limits on campaign spending, increasing voter engagement through open primaries, multi-member districts, fusion voting, or ranked choice voting to get around polarizing primaries. Voters in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota have ballot measures before them in November with many of these proposals. All attempt to increase incentives for elected officials to appeal to broader segments of the population than a narrow partisan base.
For more on the democracy reform measures on the ballot in November, I hope you will check out RepresentWomen’s Voter Guide!
The Complicated Origins of the Electoral College
The United States is one of the only democracies still using an Electoral College system to elect the president. This system originated in ancient Rome and was fiercely debated by the Founding Fathers; it does not directly reflect the popular vote and unevenly assigns influence between all 50 states. Many proposals exist to overturn the Electoral College in the United States, including the National Popular Voter Interstate Compact, which was recently featured on The Daily Show.
Joshua Holzer writes in The Fulcrum:
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, currently agreed to by 17 U.S. states, including small states such as Delaware and big ones such as California, as well as the District of Columbia, is an agreement to award all of their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate gets the most votes nationwide. It would take effect once enough states sign on that they would represent the 270-vote majority of electoral votes. The current list reaches 209 electoral votes.
A key problem with the interstate compact is that in races with more than two candidates, it could lead to situations where the winner of the election did not get a majority of the popular vote, but rather more than half of all voters chose someone else.
When Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Finland and France got rid of their electoral colleges, they did not replace them with a direct popular vote in which the person with the most votes wins. Instead, they all adopted a version of runoff voting. In those systems, winners are declared only when they receive support from more than half of those who cast ballots.
Historic Elections in Annapolis Royal, Canada, Elects All-Women City Council and Woman Mayor
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada, has elected an all-women council and mayor for the first time in its history! The new council members include Adele MacDonald, Lynn Myers, Heather Sadkowski and Sybil Skinner Robertson, with Amery Boyer re-elected as mayor. The election of these women highlights the viability of women candidates, with Mayor Boyer noting they were chosen for their community involvement and leadership potential.
For more information on how an all-women city council could impact them, check out our Impact Analysis: New York City’s Woman-Majority Council.
CBC reports in Yahoo News:
Historically, women have been underrepresented in municipal politics compared to men.
According to a 2023 report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, women represented 31 percent of all municipal elected representatives in the country.
In Nova Scotia, fewer than a third of candidates running for a contested district were women during the last elections, which was a slight two percent increase from the 2016 municipal elections.
Boyer said the women in this new council were elected for more than their gender.
“I honestly believe that people voted according to how they felt people would perform,” Boyer said. “And it’s not a surprise to me that certain of them got noticed because they were very active in the community.”
Corporate Britain Experiences Decline in Women Executives
The number of women executives in corporate Britain has declined for the first time in eight years. According to The Pipeline Consultancy, the proportion of women on executive committees in the top 350 listed U.K. companies fell from 33 percent in 2023 to 32 percent in 2024. Women hold only 9 percent of CEO positions and 18 percent of CFO roles.
Reuters reports in Fast Company:
“Organisations which are performing the best in terms of gender parity are 22% more likely to have improved profits … and so fair representation is not just a ‘nice to have’ or a tick-box exercise – it is a business imperative.”
Women still hold only 9% of chief executive (CEO) roles on FTSE 350 companies and 18% of top finance (CFO) positions – although they account for over 44% of chartered accountant roles, The Pipeline’s 2024 Women Count report showed.
Only 19% of women hold commercial boardroom jobs—roles that are accountable for a company’s profit and loss and can lead to jobs as a CEO and CFO—according to the data sourced from research group BoardEx. That number is down from 20% in 2023.
With Women in Power, Women’s Lives Improve
The Women’s Reservation Act 2023, formally known as the 128th Constitutional Amendment Act, mandates 33 percent reservation for women in India’s Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The act will be implemented after the pending 2021 Census and delimitation process, likely delaying its impact until 2029 or beyond. It will be in effect for 15 years, with seats rotating after each election.
When women are in power, the lives of women and girls improve.
Our international research shows that gender quotas effectively accelerate progress towards gender balance if adequately enforced.
The State Times reports:
The Women’s Reservation Act 2023 holds the potential to transform India’s political landscape by increasing women’s representation. Below are some key prospects and potential benefits of implementing the 33% reservation policy:
a.Enhanced Political Representation for Women: The one-third reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will significantly increase the number of women legislators. This will provide greater gender diversity in decision-making bodies and reduce the existing gender imbalance in Indian politics (currently, women constitute only around 14% of Parliament).:
- Better Governance and Inclusive Policy-Making: Women’s participation can lead to more inclusive policies, especially on issues related to health, education, social welfare, and gender equality. Research from Panchayats and local bodies shows that women leaders tend to prioritize issues like sanitation, water, and healthcare, improving public service delivery.
- Greater Focus on Social Issues: Women leaders are more likely to advocate for policies related to domestic violence, child welfare, maternal health, and workplace safety. A higher presence of women in politics could also enhance laws and enforcement on issues like gender-based violence and equal pay—global Parity with Other Democracies. Several countries, such as Rwanda, Sweden, Norway, and Mexico, have successfully implemented gender quotas in their parliaments. India’s move towards 33% reservation aligns it with global efforts to ensure gender-balanced governance and will improve its ranking in international gender equity indices.
I was very glad to teach Susannah Wellford’s class of amazing students at American University this week who are passionate about ranked choice voting, women’s leadership and democracy—they asked great questions! Many thanks to Susannah for this ongoing opportunity!
What’s Your Fave Halloween Movie?
Halloween is next week! What is your favorite Halloween movie?
And as we near the end of October, the holiday season is just around the corner. Why not get a head start on holiday shopping? Our annual planner, featuring historic milestones for women, is the perfect gift for the extraordinary women in your life. Don’t wait—order The Visionary Woman’s 2025 Planner today!
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