Executive Summary The statistics are widely reported: Women make up only 17 percent of Congress but are over 50 percent of the U.S. population. Even President Barack Obama believes Congress would get more done if there were more women in Congress, saying, “I think it’s fair to say: That is almost guaranteed.” On behalf of […]
This report is designed to help women candidates navigate the changes that the 2010 elections represent. In many ways a departure from our earlier research, Turning Point: The Changing Landscape for Women Candidates helps women candidates for executive office identify and deploy all of their assets without succumbing to the pitfalls that gender bias can still present.
“Men are used to being in charge. Running for office is something they take as an entitlement. Women need to show ‘I have the right.'” – FEMALE STATE PARTY OFFICIAL Four women ran for Governor in 2008: Governor Chris Gregoire (WA), then-Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue (NC), Speaker Gaye Symington (VT) and former Congresswoman Jill Long […]
When we began studying the results of the 1998 elections, only 16 women had served as governor in the entire 225-year history of the United States. Today, that number has risen to 36. Six women governors currently serve as the chief executive in their states: Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Oregon.