Women Voters

Actually It’s Good That Fewer High Schoolers Want to Get Married

PUBLISHED 11/20/2025 by

High schoolers, and especially high school girls, are less likely than ever to say that they want to get married someday, according to new research from Pew Research Center. While boys have stayed fairly stable in how many of them say they want to marry, girls have gone from overwhelmingly wanting marriage to being even less likely than boys to want to wed.

Conservative groups and writers have met this new survey with some panic. If 12th graders don’t want to get married, I guess the logic goes, then they won’t get married, and America’s declining rates of marriage and childbearing will continue and will eventually destroy society. To them, this new survey indicates a broader social shift away from marriage and childbearing, which is bad, because in their view, the nuclear family is the good and necessary backbone of any moral and functional culture. 

But actually, it’s great that far fewer high school girls are even thinking about marriage.

The teenage girls who are thinking about their weekends instead of their weddings? They’re doing something right. 

Election Results: Historic Gender Gaps Shape 2025 Outcomes in Virginia, New Jersey and Beyond

PUBLISHED 11/3/2025 by , , , and | UPDATED 11/10/2025 at 12:28 P.M. PT

We’ve curated the results of all the state-by-state election results that feminists most care about.

Together, the early data from this week’s elections paints a clear picture: Women voters were the decisive force in the 2025 elections, driving sweeping Democratic victories across key states. Women turned out at higher rates than men and made up a majority of voters. Support for women’s rights, reproductive freedom, gender equality and fair immigration policies powered a Democratic sweep this election season.

Historic gender gaps reshaped the political landscape:
—In Virginia, 65 percent of women voted for Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, compared to just 48 percent of men, a 17-point gender gap. 
—In New Jersey, women backed Democrat Mikie Sherrill by 62 percent, compared with 49 percent of men, a 13-point gap that proved decisive in her win. 

​​What’s at Stake in Louisiana v. Callais—and Why it Matters for Women

PUBLISHED 10/17/2025 by

For nearly 60 years, the Voting Rights Act has been the foundation of representative democracy in the United States, ensuring that all communities—regardless of race or background—have a fair chance to elect leaders who reflect their experiences and priorities. Today, that foundation is being tested. The Supreme Court’s consideration of Louisiana v. Callais challenges Section 2 of the VRA, a crucial safeguard against discriminatory maps and election practices that dilute the voices of communities of color.

When these protections are strong, women of color are more likely not only to participate in elections but to win them—bringing new perspectives, policies and leadership into government. Weakening Section 2 would have ripple effects far beyond redistricting: It would silence voices that have been historically excluded from power, particularly those of women whose civic leadership has long strengthened our democracy.

As RepresentWomen’s research shows, Louisiana already lags behind much of the country in women’s political representation. Rolling back Section 2 would not only harm communities of color—it would jeopardize fragile gains toward gender parity and threaten the progress that brings our democracy closer to true representation.

Tradwives and ‘The People That People Come Out Of’

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

For the first time in years, the number of U.S. mothers with young children in the workforce is shrinking—over 212,000 women left between January and June 2025 alone.

Childcare costs, in-office pressures, and a cultural nudge toward traditional gender roles are pushing moms out, while men in power nod along.

Meanwhile, the tradwife movement parades its perfect, baked-from-scratch, filtered-life versions of domesticity online, making the impossible look effortless.

It’s absurd. It’s dangerous. And it’s time we stop letting the economy treat raising kids as invisible labor.

Real Change for Women in Politics Requires Fixing Broken Systems

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

The fight for women’s equality isn’t stalled because women aren’t stepping up to run—it’s stalled because our systems are built to protect incumbents and the status quo. The good news is we know how to fix those systems. Tools like ranked-choice voting and proportional representation give voters more voice, create real opportunities for women and people of color, and help build a democracy that reflects us all. Change is possible, but only if we act.

The 19th Amendment, Explained

PUBLISHED 8/22/2025 by

It took more than a century of fighting by generations of activists to achieve suffrage for all American women.

The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The amendment granting women the right to vote was enacted at the start of the Roaring Twenties, decades after a prolonged and meandering fight for enfranchisement. 

The 19th Amendment codified women’s suffrage nationwide, but long before its ratification, unmarried women who owned property in New Jersey could and did cast ballots between 1776 and 1807. Beginning in 1869, women in Western territories won the right to vote. And in the decade leading up to the 19th Amendment’s passage, 23 states granted women full or partial voting rights through a series of successful campaigns.

Remembering the Mother’s Letter That Secured the 19th Amendment

PUBLISHED 8/22/2025 by

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in! 

This week:
—“Dear Son … Hurray and vote for Suffrage and don’t keep them in doubt.” On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment when young legislator, Harry Burn, followed the advice of his mother, Febb Burn, and cast the decisive vote in favor. Febb—a college-educated widow who read three newspapers a day and strongly felt her mind was the equal of any man’s—had long impressed upon her son the importance of suffrage.
—California women are far more likely than men to be “energy burdened,” spending more than 6 percent of their income on home energy costs, including utilities for heating, cooling and power.
—RepresentWomen’s 2025 Gender Parity Index (GPI) offers encouraging news: Women’s political power in the United States is reaching new heights, with states like New Hampshire, Oregon and Maine achieving gender parity for the first time in history. But the United States still has a way to go, ranking 77th globally in women’s representation, but more importantly, it lags behind nearly all its major democratic allies.
—Economic struggle, especially among women, is profoundly shaping the political moment heading into 2026. Understanding the significance for female voters is not merely a political embellishment; it is fundamental to securing electoral victories in the midterm elections and effecting meaningful change.

… and more.

Of Course Trump Threatened Ballot Access on the 19th Amendment’s Anniversary

PUBLISHED 8/21/2025 by

The 19th Amendment turned 105 this week. Instead of marking progress, we’re watching Trump officials entertain the idea that women’s right to vote is negotiable. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified a pastor calling for repeal of the amendment, and when pressed, his office issued a half-hearted “of course” women should vote. We’ve seen this playbook before: Roe was safe, contraception wasn’t at risk—until both were.

Trump himself piled on this week, vowing to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterms. He can’t legally do it, but the threat is the point. Combined with the SAVE Act, which could disenfranchise married women who changed their names, the message is clear.

The anniversary of women’s suffrage is not just history—it’s a warning flare. The right to vote is under attack, and the fight this time is for all the marbles.