RepresentWomen

RepresentWomen is a 501(c)(3) organization that aims to help women achieve gender parity in public office in the United States. The organization conducts research and advocacy work to advance women’s representation through candidate recruitment rules (ie gender targets for political parties and political action committees) so more women run, electoral reforms (ie ranked choice voting) that promote "fairer" voting systems so more women win, and the modernization of legislative rules (ie onsite childcare and nursing rooms) so more women can serve and lead effectively, once elected.[1][2] Their mission, according to their website, is to “strengthen our democracy by advancing reforms that break down barriers to ensure more women can run, win, serve, and lead.”[3]

RepresentWomen
Formation2013
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
PurposePromoting reforms to increase women's representation in political office
HeadquartersTakoma Park, Maryland, US
Executive Director
Cynthia Richie Terrell
Websitehttps://www.representwomen.org/
Formerly called
Representation2020 (as a project of FairVote)

RepresentWomen, originally called Representation2020, started in 2013 as a project of FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for electoral reform in the United States.[1] The organization changed its name to RepresentWomen and achieved nonprofit status in 2018.[1]

RepresentWomen is based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Research Projects

The Gender Parity Index (2014-present)

RepresentWomen has put out a Gender Parity Index every year since 2014.[4] This report scores local, state, and federal U.S. governments on the degree to which they are composed of women.[5] Each state is given a letter grade reflecting how close they are to gender parity.[6] Grades are based on a point system measuring the proportion of women in Congress, state legislatures, state executive positions, and local executive positions.[7]

States receive an "A" grade if they score a 50.0 and above, a "B" if they score between 49.9 and 33.0, a "C" if they are between 32.9 and 25.0, a "D" if they are between 24.9 and 10.0, and an "F" if they score below 10.0.[4] "A"-grade states are considered to have reached gender parity across all levels of elected government. The only state to have received an "A" grade on their index is New Hampshire, though in 2019, its grade dipped to a "B" with a score of 49.1.[8]

With the majority of states ranking between a "C" and "D", the 2018 report found that “women are underrepresented at the national, state, and local level, and that parity for men and women in elected office is unlikely to occur without structural changes in recruitment, electoral, and legislative rules.” [9] It also found that in 2018, women made up only 25.3 percent of state legislators.[10]

The 2019 report found that women are still underrepresented,[11] despite the fact that "women in 2018 filed to run, became party nominees, and won against other candidates live never before."[12] According to the 2019 index, the 2018 "Year of the Woman" yielded record breakthroughs for women, including the largest-ever class of women in the U.S. Congress (127, up from 110 prior to the 2018 elections), gender-balanced state legislatures in Nevada, and new firsts for women of color, members of the LGBT community, and young people.[12][4][13] Still, no state achieved gender parity in the 2019 index.[13]

Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates (2016)

In 2016, RepresentWomen partnered with The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and Common Cause to explore political giving to congressional candidates with a gender lens and create transparency on how political giving impacts the "viability" of candidates. This partnership terminated with the release of a report titled, "Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates."[14][15]

International Research: Why Rules and Systems Matter (2018, 2019)

RepresentWomen released an international report in 2018, titled, “Why Rules and Systems Matter: Lessons from Around the World.”[16] This report reviewed how different policies and systems affect women’s representation in 193 countries and ranked countries based on their levels of women’s representation.[16] The research found that proportional representation voting systems and gender quotas were associated with the increased representation of women.[17]

Advocacy

Fair Representation Act

RepresentWomen advocates for fair representation voting implementation in the United States through the use of ranked choice voting and multi-member districts.[18][19] They identify the Fair Representation Act (HR 3057), introduced by Rep. Donald Beyer Jr., as a way to achieve this reform to electoral systems.[20][21] RepresentWomen’s executive director Cynthia Richie Terrell played a role in creating the Fair Representation Act.[22]

See also

References
  1. "RepresentWomen". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  2. Ellefson, Lindsey (July 11, 2019). "RepresentWomen's Cynthia Terrell on How American Women Can Win at the Ballot Box". The Wrap. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  3. "Our Mission". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  4. Ahrens, Corinne (October 22, 2019). "Ms. Magazine". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  5. Bland, David Travis. "When It Comes to Women in Office, South Carolina Scores a D". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  6. Bureau, Allison Stevens Capital-Star Washington (2019-02-22). "Stronger together, Pa.'s 'Fab Four' women lawmakers make their mark on Capitol Hill". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  7. Richie Terrell, Cynthia (February 2018). "2018 Gender Parity Index". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  8. Richie Terrell, Cynthia; Geist, Gilda (November 11, 2019). "Where does your state fall on the Gender Parity Index?". Gender on the Ballot. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. Representation2020.com. "2018 Gender Parity Index". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  10. "How many women represent Long Island?". Newsday. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  11. Queram, Kate Elizabeth (October 31, 2019). "Women Still Underrepresented in Elected Office at All Levels of Government, Report Says". Route Fifty. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  12. Richie Terrell, Cynthia; Lamendola, Courtney (July 2019). "2019 Gender Parity Index". RepresentWomen. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  13. Demas, Susan J. (October 30, 2019). "Michigan Vaults to the 6th-Best State for Women in Office". Michigan Advance. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  14. The Center for Responsive Politics, Common Cause and Representation2020. "Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates" RepresentWomen. (2016-11). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  15. "Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates". Common Cause. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  16. "Current Projects". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  17. "Box". fairvote.app.box.com. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  18. Dittmar, Kelly (2018-06-12). "Ranked Choice Voting and Women: Q&A with Cynthia Terrell (RepresentWomen)". Gender Watch 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  19. "Women Winning". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  20. "Text - H.R.3057 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Fair Representation Act". www.congress.gov. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  21. "Opinion | Should We Expand the House of Representatives?". The New York Times. 2018-11-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  22. Richards, Parker (2018-10-27). "There's a Better Way to Elect House Members". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
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