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 in Women’s History: Susan B. Anthony Fined, 19th Amendment Passed and Labor Party Formed
Milestones in women’s history this week include the U.S. Senate passing the 19th Amendment before sending it to the states for ratification, the formation of the National Women’s Labor Party in 1916 and Susan B. Anthony being fined for voting in a presidential election in 1872.
Ranked-Choice Voting in Action: Zohran Mamdani Endorsement Helps Adrienne Adams Qualify for Public Funds
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was a late-starter in the mayoral campaign for the Democratic nomination to be decided on June 24, but now is expected to qualify for public matching funds this week after a late surge in campaign donations, thanks in part to a surprising boost from a rival.
On May 18, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, also running for mayor, urged his supporters on social media to contribute to Adams’ campaign, which led to a spike in donations just before the May 19 fundraising deadline. This support reflects the strategic positive campaigning encouraged by ranked-choice voting campaigns, as detailed by FairVote in a recent news release on New York City’s primary.
Devyn Novikoff writes in City & State New York:
Adams received an influx of campaign donations on the last day of the fundraising cycle after Mamdani posted a video on X on the evening of May 18 urging his supporters to contribute to her campaign. The video, which generated 830,000 views on X, coincided with the end of the latest campaign finance cycle on May 19 – a critical deadline for Adams to qualify for the city’s generous public matching program after her late entry into the race. The Campaign Finance Board is expected to officially announce whether Adams qualified on Friday.
The speaker accrued about $117,000 in donations on May 18 and 19, which was about 30% of her total fundraising since the cycle began two months prior…
Mamdani’s efforts to raise funds for Adams plays to the strategic advantages of ranked-choice voting. Adams and fellow candidate state Sen. Zellnor Myrie have both told Black voters to support Black candidates from their neighborhoods rather than Cuomo, who currently leads the demographic at 74%, according to the most recent poll. If Adams successfully meets the threshold and is perceived as a more viable candidate for Black voters to support, it could narrow Cuomo’s margin.
On June 4, before the first mayoral debate of the cycle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced her five preferred candidates for mayor, with Mamdani as her first choice and Adams as her second choice. The New York Times published “10 Questions with Adrienne Adams” on June 4.
Australia Elects Record Number of Women to Parliament in Historic 2025 Vote
On May 3, 2025, Australia held a historic election for seats in its 28th Parliament. Now, 69 women have been elected to Australia’s 150-member House of Representatives, up from 58 in the previous election cycle. There are currently 44 women (who hold 58 percent of seats) serving in the Australian Senate.
The election results were finalized this week, when Nicolette Boelle—another “Teal independent” (women prioritizing climate change, clean government and women’s equality)—won a previously safe seat for the conservative coalition in a comeback win.
We are so excited to see such progress made towards gender parity in international elections.
Australia has a bicameral legislature, using a single-winner RCV system in the lower house and a multi-winner RCV system in the upper house to elect candidates (known in Australia as preferential voting). Australia does not have mandated gender quotas, but several political parties have adopted voluntary quotas to ensure women’s representation, most impactfully the Australian Labor Party, which now has a majority of women in its caucus and cabinet.
According to RepresentWomen’s Oceania country brief (published December 2023):
“Women’s representation in the Oceania region in lower houses of parliament is 20%, lower than the global average of 27%.”
While these numbers may have changed, it is clear that Australia and Oceania as a whole need to invest in systems like proportional representation and gender quotas to increase women’s representation over time. Those changes are possible with the increased number of women in the Australian parliament.
Pride Month 2025: Honoring Stonewall’s Legacy and the Rise of LGBTQ+ Elected Leaders
June is Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City. The Stonewall Inn marks the location of a six-day rebellion by LGBTQ+ individuals, activists and community members against the NYC police officers conducting a violent raid. This marked a turning point in queer activism in the United States; the first Pride parade was held the following year and the Stonewall Inn was declared a monument in 2016.
The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute publishes the Out for America map each year, tracking the total number of LGBTQ+ elected officials nationwide. As of 2025,1,336 LGBTQ+ elected officials were in office, making up 0.26 percent of elected officials at the local, state and federal levels and the judiciary.
In today’s uncertain time, when protections for LGBTQ+ individuals are being rolled back, we must continue to uplift and advocate for queer voices, especially those taking the step to serve in public office.
Canada’s Progress Toward Gender Parity in Parliament Stalls
In Canada’s recent federal election held with U.S.-style plurality voting in single-member districts, 103 women were elected to the House of Commons—one-third of all MPs—a slight decline from 2021 and reflecting a very different trajectory than Australia with its use of ranked-choice voting in the house and proportional representation in the Senate.
While the ruling Liberal Party increased its share of women MPs to 40 percent, female representation remains stagnant and far from gender parity.
The number of women and nonbinary candidates dropped significantly, largely due to fewer female nominations from major parties. Conservatives, in particular, had the lowest share of women candidates.
Read our North America Country Brief for insights on Canada and ways to increase women’s representation in the country.
Gabrielle Bardall writes in The Conversation:
A month ago, 103 women were elected to the House of Commons, representing one-third of MPs, a slight decrease since 2021 (-0.9%).
But the number of women elected under the banner of the ruling Liberal Party increased by five per cent, representing 40 per cent of Liberal seats.
Following a turbulent election campaign, women’s representation in the Canadian Parliament reflects a certain stability, but not positive progress toward parity.
There were fewer female candidates than in the last election. Furthermore, in terms of the representation of women, there are significant differences between parties and regions across the country.
These figures reflect the same dynamics my colleagues and I have been observing for the last two decades. As an assistant professor at the Université Sainte-Anne, I work on the issue of women’s political participation with various international organizations in more than 60 countries. This experience allows me to view Canadian data within the global context, where progress is often fragile and unevenly distributed.
Young South Korean Women Propel More Liberal Candidate Lee to Victory
In South Korea’s June presidential election, young women played a pivotal role in electing Lee Jae-myung. Approximately 58 percent of women in their 20s and 57 percent in their 30s voted for Lee, reflecting a significant gender divide in the country’s political landscape. This support was instrumental in Lee’s victory, especially following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office after attempting to impose martial law. Young women had been at the forefront of mass protests against Yoon, underscoring a broader trend of Gen Z women globally leaning towards progressive causes, shaping the future of democracy.
The Atlantic, on June 2, published “The Anti-Anti-Feminist Election,” with this subheading: “The fight over South Korea’s democracy is also a fight over women’s rights.” Here is an excerpt.
“Opposition to women’s rights has helped fuel authoritarian movements in Russia, Hungary, Brazil, and the United States. That the same is true in South Korea, which is holding an early presidential election tomorrow, is perhaps less well known. There, the role of anti-feminists is particularly stark, helping to put women’s issues at the very center of the country’s fraught contest…
“Why was a country known for technological prowess, slick horror films, and dreamy boy bands descending into chaos? The answer lies in part with the country’s struggle over women’s rights. Even as South Korea has raced ahead economically, gender equality has lagged behind other indicators. Out of 146 countries indexed by the World Economic Forum, South Korea comes 112th in women’s economic participation and 100th in women’s educational attainment (only slightly better than Iran).”
Still, as the Christian Science Monitor explained, Korean women still have far to go. From the June 2 article, “Women helped oust South Korea’s president. Now they feel erased by elections”:
“Women were the face of the protest movement that brought down South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol this winter, one of the most remarkable moments in the country’s young democracy. But now that it’s time to replace him in snap elections Tuesday, women are completely absent from the ballot. “For the first time in 18 years, all of South Korea’s presidential candidates are men, and none has placed gender equality at the forefront of their campaigns. Analysts credit this to a growing backlash against the country’s feminist movement, particularly among young men. Long before his failed attempt to declare martial law, the ousted Mr. Yoon was criticized for fanning that anti-feminist sentiment by dismissing the existence of gender discrimination and rolling back policies geared toward women’s equality.”
Building a Feminist Future Starts Local: Why Gender Parity Begins at City Hall—And Watch New Orleans This Fall
While it is disappointing that the United States has yet to see a woman in the Oval Office, it is still possible to build a more inclusive and representative government. Women are underrepresented across all levels of government, mirroring national disparities: They hold about 32 percent of municipal offices, 26.8 percent of mayoralties and 24 percent of governorships. Local government serves as a critical pipeline to national leadership and a testing ground for transformative policies. Lorrissa Reinhart writes:
To achieve gender parity at the highest levels of government, we must start with local government. Here’s why:
According to the latest research by the Center for American Women and Politics, women represent:
- 32.3% of municipal offices
- 26.8% of mayors of cities of 30k
- 32.3% statewide elective executive officeholders
- 24% of Governors
These local and state levels of women’s representation are almost an exact mirror of national representation. There’s a reason for this. Most experts will tell you local government is a pipeline to national politics. A run for the Senate often begins with a seat on the City Council.
In 2017, after three centuries of male leadership, New Orleans elected city councilor LaToya Cantrell as its first woman mayor in a landslide runoff win. Cantrell won re-election in 2021 with 65 percent of the vote. Cantrell cannot run this fall due to term limits, and city council president Helena Moreno is far ahead in a recent poll by JMC Analytics, with 52 percent support as compared to 23 percent for the next candidate.
Black Women Targeted in Trump’s Purge of Government Employees
Public service is more than just running for office; the individuals who work in our city halls, state houses, and federal agencies all perform essential functions to keep our government up and running. Nevertheless, President Trump has continued to threaten federal workers with mass layoffs and defunding aid programs. These challenges have impacted thousands, with new research from ProPublica finding nonwhite individuals, especially Black women, have been specifically and unfairly targeted.
David McSwane writes in ProPublica:
But a broad assessment of Trump’s firings by ProPublica and other media shows the agencies with the most diverse staffs are often the hardest hit. Before the firings, the Education Department’s staff was majority nonwhite, with Black women making up about 28% of workers, the most recent federal data shows. According to a New York Times tracker of the firings, that department has seen a reduction of about 46% of its staff. The staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development was majority women and nearly 40% racial and ethnic minorities before Trump all but eliminated it.
Meanwhile, at the Department of Justice, where white personnel make up two-thirds of the workforce, most of it men, staff has been cut just 1%, according to the most recently available federal data and the Times tracker. The Department of Energy, more than 70% white, saw a reduction of about 13%.
“We have observed approximately 90% of the workers targeted for terminations due to a perceived association with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are women or nonbinary,” said Kelly Dermody, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who have asked an administrative law judge to approve class-action status for the fired employees.
Nearly 80% of potential case plaintiffs are nonwhite, she said; most of that cohort are Black women.
And as Ofronama Biu wrote in Ms.:
These discharged government workers are now entering an uncertain job market where reemployment elsewhere may be a slow and painful effort; for Black workers, who are always hardest hit in economic downturns, this will likely hurt the most. Efforts to cut government employment are in line with Republican tropes around the need for “small” government and depictions of federal spending as inefficient and wasteful, even when data shows Republican administrations have added more to national debt than Democratic administrations.
Record Number of Female Legislators Elected in Wisconsin
Women now make up one-third of the Wisconsin legislature as of January 2025. Currently, 34 women serve in the Assembly and 10 women serve in the Senate. In 2024, Wisconsin received a D grade and ranked 26th in the nation on its proximity to gender parity according to our Gender Parity Index.
Steven Walters writes in Urban Milwaukee:
There was a 30% gain in the number of women legislators in the decade between 2015 and 2025, and a gain of one from the previous session, according to a new report from the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Reference Bureau Analyst Laura Felone Day also tracked legislators’ professions: 16 of the 33 senators, and 43 of the 99 Assembly members, said they were full-time legislators, which pays a salary of about $55,000 and travel and lodging expenses.
The second most reported profession was small-business owner, which was listed by 31 Assembly members.
Serving in local governments, or working as a Congressional or legislative aide, is also a common path to the Legislature. According to the report, 14 senators and 53 Assembly members had that experience.
New Documentary Prime Minister on Jacinda Ardern
I can’t wait to see Prime Minister, a documentary directed by Lindsay Utz about New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern to be released on June 13th—click here to purchase a ticket. Here is a trailer for the film and a description from the filmmakers about this remarkable woman leader:
In August 2017, in the lead-up to national elections, Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand’s opposition party leader. She had just turned 37. Two frenetic months later, she was Prime Minister. Just before the final vote was in, she discovered she was pregnant. She would become only the second head of state in history to give birth while in office.
Ardern quickly became one of the most recognizable leaders in the world. She drew global attention from people craving a sensitive and compassionate approach to the critical issues of our time. In private, she struggled with being a mother and proving herself to a public skeptical of women’s leadership. A series of crises – the Christchurch massacre, pandemic lockdowns, and disinformation-fueled protests outside Parliament – would test that leadership and the feminine touch she brought to it. She resigned from office in January 2023, shocking her supporters and critics alike.
Going behind the scenes of her administration and her private life, PRIME MINISTER follows Jacinda for seven years as she is catapulted to the top of New Zealand politics, becomes a feminist political icon, resigns suddenly from office and continues to champion the fight against isolationism, fear, and the distortion of truth. Intimate home footage shot by her husband and audio interviews that Jacinda did while in office give us unparalleled access. Along with in-depth contemporaneous interviews, these form the emotional backbone of the story, giving viewers an unfiltered window into her years in power.
The world is at a perilous political crossroads. Trust in institutions, expertise, and liberal democracy itself are under dire strain. Which direction will we go? PRIME MINISTER leaves viewers wondering what the world might be like with more Jacindas at the helm.
Leadership Now and Leadership Conference Gatherings This Week
I attended an all-day conference organized in New York City by Leadership Now on Monday, with a number of featured powerful voices, including founder Daniella Ballou-Aares and other business leaders who share a concern for protecting and strengthening democratic institutions.
On Wednesday night, I attended the We the Majority reception celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, ably led by its president Maya Wiley who spoke powerfully about the legacy of the civil right movement and the importance of building on the rich relationships that are integral to our shared success.
Women’s Voices on Broadway: John Proctor Is the Villain and Call Me Izzy
I was fortunate this week to see with my husband two remarkable, full-house plays on Broadway that feature the ongoing struggle for women’s equality and safety.
On Monday night, I saw a preview performance of a one-woman play, Call Me Izzy, by Hacks star Jean Smart. Smart powerfully tells the story of a rural Louisiana woman whose prize-winning writing is stifled by an abusive husband for years. The show is scheduled to run until Aug. 17—you should see it!
Also don’t miss the musical about Latina immigrant women, Real Women Have Curves.
On Tuesday, my daughter Becca joined us for John Proctor is the Villain, with a cast featuring Sadie Sink that has been nominated for seven Tony Awards and is currently scheduled to run through July 13. I first saw the play in an intimate production by Studio Theater in Washington, D.C., and purchased tickets for family, friends and colleagues to see it. It is gratifying to see this heart-wrenching story of Georgia teenage girls standing up for themselves in the face of sexual predation and the ongoing pattern in the United States of blaming the victim.
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times captured the experience of so many of us at the play this week, in her June 2nd column “Why Women are Leaving this Broadway Show in Tears.” My own tears also came with the belief that young women will still drive us to the changes we so urgently need, but I have empathy for Goldberg’s worry for how long that change will take.
I cried the first time I saw the play “John Proctor Is the Villain,” set in a high school in small-town Georgia during the height of the #MeToo movement, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks. On social media, I saw other women reacting similarly, leaving performances in tears. This past weekend, I went a second time with a friend. As the houselights went up, she was crying, as was the woman in the row in front of us. They spontaneously hugged, which is something I’ve never seen before at a Broadway show…
One reason for its power, I suspect, is that it transports the viewer back to a time when #MeToo still felt alive with possibility, the moment before the backlash when it seemed we might be on the cusp of a more just and equal world. It’s not an uplifting play — an innocent girl is punished, and a guilty man is not — but it is still shot through with a kind of hope that’s now in short supply….
I don’t want to deny that the #MeToo movement made mistakes — that I made mistakes — and that the rage fueling it sometimes felt as if it was burning out of control. But it was also a period when that rage was finally taken seriously, when many women no longer felt that they needed to accept abuse and harassment as a given, when the machine that wrecks women’s lives by labeling them crazy briefly sputtered out.
“John Proctor Is the Villain” brings back the furious exhilaration of that time, though you know as you’re watching it how quickly it will be extinguished. When she wrote the play in 2018, said Belflower, “It felt like, ‘Oh, maybe we’re going to change the institutions. Maybe we’re going to change these cycles of power.’ And now it feels like, ‘OK, those institutions are not going to take care of us. We have to take care of us.’” What’s devastating in her play is watching teenage girls take care of one another when no one else will.”
Blueberries are ready to ripen in my back garden. Have a good weekend!
