In 2000 a New York Times article floated 57 potential names for posts in a Bush or Gore administration–only seven of them—12 percent—were women. President George H.W. Bush appointed 181 women out of 903 appointees, or 20 percent. The Clinton administration (which appointed more women than any administration in history) had about 2,160 political appointees, including 592 women, or 27.4 percent. In order to urge the next administration to continue this upward trend, the Women’s Appointments Project was kicked off in October 2000 in Washington. A joint venture between the National Women’s Political Caucus and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the project was designed to push the resumes of qualified women for appointments in the new administration, regardless of which party wins the White House. The Foundation was proud to be a sponsoring partner of this effort towards parity for women’s political power for both terms of George W. Bush’s presidency in 2000 and 2004.
