Author: Cynthia Richie Terrell

Cynthia Richie Terrell is the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen and a founding board member of the ReflectUS coalition of non-partisan women’s representation organizations. Terrell is an outspoken advocate for innovative rules and systems reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States. Terrell and her husband Rob Richie helped to found FairVote—a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice and a truly representative democracy. Terrell has worked on projects related to women's representation, voting system reform and democracy in the United States and abroad.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Honoring Dianne Feinstein’s Legacy; India’s New Gender Quota Law Is a Win For Women

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Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: To honor Senator Feinstein’s legacy, let’s pave the way for a new generation of women leaders by addressing the barriers women face in politics as candidates and as elected officials; we need to adopt feminist foreign policies, as 16 countries have done around the world; India’s legislature has recently passed a new bill that will reserve one-third of the seats in parliament for women, but gender parity remains far out of reach for most countries; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women’s World Cup Becomes Battleground for Gender Equality; Ranked-Choice Voting Comes to Boulder, Colo.

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Anti-abortion Republican women lawmakers hope supporting legislation to expand access to birth control will provide them with political cover from abortion bans; feminism and the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia; the modern fight for the ERA; “A womanless history no more”; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Senate Could See Third Black Woman Senator in 234 Years; Key Races in Boulder and St. Paul

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Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: the release of the 10th annual Gender Parity Index fueled discussions about U.S. women’s representation on social media; This November, Boulder will have its first ranked-choice mayoral contest; five women individually filed their candidacies for the St. Paul City Council; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Ohio’s Rejection of Issue 1 is a Win for Ballot Measures; Democracy and Women’s Empowerment Are Linked

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: New Jersey state Rep. Sadaf Jaffer is leaving office due to the mental, emotional and sometimes physical trauma of serving in the public eye; Kalamazoo, Mich., has adopted a resolution to implement ranked-choice voting for mayoral and city commissioner elections; the findings of the 2023 Gender Parity Index; and more.

Black Women Are Still Underrepresented in U.S. Politics. They Need Funding to Fairly Compete.

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Abortion remains a salient issue for primary voters; around the world, there is still a notable lack of women in leadership roles; Virginia’s state elections in November; “We need to stop sending women to a broken system,” says Melinda French Gates; Dutch finance minister stepping down to protect her family from threats against her; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: How Inequality Affects Women in Film; What Barbie Can Teach Us About the Gender Wage Gap

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer are impossible without actors and writers, and women are still getting paid less in the industry; Christopher Nolan’s film had the opportunity to mention critical women of the atomic age but failed; Emily’s List’s new Madam Mayor program will “serve as a critical touchpoint” for woman mayors to receive support; and more.

Marking the 175th Anniversary of Seneca Falls: ‘Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand’

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: This week marks the 175th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, when suffragists and abolitionists convened to ignite the movement for women’s political and social equality; House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi wrote of equality’s slow progress; The Campaign School at Yale, led by Patricia Russo, welcomed 76 students from across the U.S. and worldwide to Yale Law School; How Gretchen Whitmer made Michigan a Democratic stronghold; the impact of having women make up the majority of New York City’s council; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: It’s Time for Women (Statues) to Join Men on the National Mall; Gender-Balanced Legislatures Are Key to Democracy

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Delaware’s General Assembly shows promising signs of change; ranked-choice voting bill introduced in Pennsylvania state legislature; The National Mall has yet to dedicate an independent monument to women, despite recent legislation that was passed to create one; countries with greater peace, reduced military expenditures, and a heightened focus on environmental concerns correlate with more gender diversity in legislatures; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: SCOTUS Is ‘Making History for the Wrong Reasons’; America Had More Than One Founding

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Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: America has far more than just one set of founders; the architects of American democracy were inspired by the system of checks and balances practiced by Indigenous peoples; why the number of women candidates filing to run for office is lower than in recent years; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Female Candidates Are Often Discussed Using Gendered Terms; Rest in Power, Anita Cornwell

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Female candidates are more likely to be described as “emotional” or “compassionate,” while male candidates are more likely to be described as “strong” or “confident”; Anita Cornwell, a revolutionary Black lesbian feminist writer, died at 99; progress toward gender balance in the U.S. is frustratingly slow and uneven; Delfina Gómez won her gubernatorial election in the state of Mexico to become the first woman to hold this position in the state; and more.