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.
Deb Haaland

Women’s Representation: Biden Breaks Record for the Most Women Ever Appointed to Cabinet

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

This week: the mayor of Paris fined for appointing too many women to leadership; using financial incentives, (and penalties) to ensure gender balance; Deb Haaland may become the first Native woman to serve in a Cabinet position; what role will Kamala Harris play in the new administration?; how many women leaders has Biden selected?; Zimbabwe proposes gender quotas; district partisanship is the biggest indicator of which party will win; feminist books for children; and more!

Women's Representation: Unprecedented Number of Women Elected to Tribal Councils in November Election

Women’s Representation: Unprecedented Number of Women Elected to Tribal Councils in November Election

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

This week: the challenges women face raising money to run for governor; analyzing women candidates’ spending patterns; gains by Republican women in Congress; unprecedented numbers of women were elected to Tribal Councils in the November election; philanthropic support for organizations dedicated to women is severely lacking; Susan Rice and Marcia Fudge join the Biden-Harris team; why electoral systems matter when it comes to women candidates; Time’s Kid of the Year; no women in the Kuwait’s next Parliament; and more.

Weekend Reading on Representation: "Make Caregiving a Presidential Priority," Says Melinda Gates

Weekend Reading on Representation: “Make Caregiving a Presidential Priority,” Says Melinda Gates

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

This week: Melinda Gates calls on Biden to “make caregiving a presidential priority”; the Massachusetts legislature stuck at 25 percent female; Shenna Bellows becomes Maine’s first woman secretary of state; Japan considers gender quota law to up women’s representation; discussing diversity in the Biden-Harris administration; and more.

What Would It Take to Double the Representation of Women in Congress By 2050?

What Would It Take to Double the Representation of Women in Congress By 2050?

As the U.S. celebrates the fairly meager victories for women candidates in the 2020 election and compare our progress to our democratic allies around the world, there is much to learn from New Zealand’s successful transition to a mixed-member proportional system.

In order for the United States to make serious and sustained progress toward parity by 2050, we must invest our energy and our resources in systemic reforms that address the structural barriers women face as candidates and elected officials.

Weekend Reading: Biden Owes it to Women to Appoint a Gender-Balanced Cabinet

Weekend Reading: Biden Owes it to Women to Appoint a Gender-Balanced Cabinet

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

This week: the impact that elected women have in legislative bodies; wins for women in the 2020 election; tipping the gender balance in Congress; Moldova has elected their first woman president; Alaska voters approve ranked-choice voting; the Biden-Harris administration must appoint a gender-balanced Cabinet; the women President-Elect Biden is considering for his administration; the Nevada state legislature will be 60 percent women in 2021; and suggested feminist reading.

Uncategorized Women's Representation: Women Who Won the Night

Women’s Representation: Women Who Won the Night

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

Election results are still coming in but we know that record numbers of women won at the local, state and congressional level this week. But while it’s exciting to celebrate candidates firsts and additional women elected to Congress, this election should serve as a clear reminder that we must invest in systems strategies that create more opportunities for women to win.

Women's Representation: Trump Drives Away Women Voters in "Historic" Numbers

Women’s Representation: Trump Drives Away Women Voters in “Historic” Numbers

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

This week: RepresentWomen’s Gender Parity Index map tracks women’s progress state by state; how Trump and his allies are driving away women voters; the 21 in ’21 initiative to get more women elected to the NYC Council; a historic number of women are running for Parliament in Egypt; the growing call for gender quotas in Somalia; ranked-choice voting is on the ballot; honoring witches—past and present; must-read feminist thrillers; and more.

Women’s Representation: Protect Yourself, Protect the Vote

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

This week: New Zealand’s voting reforms help Jacinda Ardern and other women get elected; the status of women’s representation around the country, and around the globe; what makes quotas an effective tool in some countries and less effective in others?; ballot measures to watch; ranked choice voting gains traction; and suggested feminist reading.

amy-coney-barrett-mother

Women’s Representation: Is Amy Coney Barrett a Mother? We Hadn’t Noticed.

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

This week: how the U.S. went from 48th to 87th in women’s representation; pro-democracy measures on the ballot this November; the best (and worst) states to be a woman; new rules regarding mandates for women’s representation on publicly-owned company boards; a Black, queer, Muslim candidate could make history in Oklahoma; feminist reading recommendations; and is Amy Coney Barrett a mother? We hadn’t noticed.