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RepresentWomen
Formation2018
FounderCynthia Richie Terrell
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
82-1933696
PurposePromoting reforms to increase women's representation in political office
HeadquartersTakoma Park, Maryland, US
Executive Director
Cynthia Richie Terrell
Parent organization
FairVote
AffiliationsReflectUS Coalition
Staff11 (2023)
Websitewww.representwomen.org
Formerly called
Representation2020

RepresentWomen is a 501(c)(3) organization that argues in favor of institutional reforms 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 (i.e. gender quotas for political parties and political action committees),[1] electoral reforms (i.e. ranked choice voting),[2] and the modernization of legislative rules (i.e. onsite childcare and nursing rooms).[3][4] 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."[5]

RepresentWomen, originally called Representation2020, started in 2013 as a project of FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for electoral reform in the United States. The organization changed its name to RepresentWomen and achieved nonprofit status in 2018.[6]

RepresentWomen is based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Research projects

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The Gender Parity Index

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RepresentWomen has put out a Gender Parity Index every year since 2014.[7][8] This report scores local, state, and federal U.S. governments on the degree to which they are composed of women.[9] Each state is given a letter grade reflecting how close they are to gender parity.[10] Grades are based on a point system measuring the proportion of women in Congress, state legislatures, state executive positions, and local executive positions.[11]

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.[12] "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.[13][14]

With the majority of states ranking between a "C" and "D", the report consistently finds 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."[15] The 2019 report found that women are less likely to be represented, despite the fact that "women in 2018 filed to run, became party nominees, and won against other candidates like never before."[16][17]

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, gender-balanced state legislatures in Nevada, and new firsts for women of color, members of the LGBT community, and young people. Still, no state achieved gender parity.[18]

Ranked Choice Voting

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In 2016, RepresentWomen released a report titled "The Impact of Ranked Choice Voting on Representation" that tracked how ranked choice voting (RCV) impacted the descriptive representation of women and people of color in the California Bay Area between 2004 and 2014.[19] In San Francisco, for example, the study found that the representation of people of color in 2016 was eight seats higher than it had been before ranked choice voting was adopted. Overall, the report found that women of color won 23% of all seats determined by ranked voting in 2016, compared with 14% before the system was adopted.[20]

In 2020, RepresentWomen released an updated analysis that tracked the impact of ranked choice voting on the descriptive representation of women and people of color in 19 U.S. cities between 2010 and 2019.[21] According to this report, as women won 45% of all ranked choice elections that featured three or more candidates in this frame of time.[22] Overall, the report found that the use of ranked choice voting in U.S. cities "correlates with representation that more closely matches the demographics of America's increasingly diverse voter population."[23]

International Voting Rules

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RepresentWomen released an international report in 2018, titled, "Why Rules and Systems Matter: Lessons from Around the World". 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.[24] The research found that proportional representation voting systems and gender quotas were associated with the increased representation of women.[25]

In 2019 and 2020, RepresentWomen produced new iterations of this report.[26][27]

Quotas for PACs and Donors

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In 2016, RepresentWomen partnered with OpenSecrets (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",[28][29]

In 2020, RepresentWomen released an update to this report, "The Cost of Electing Women: How PACs and Donors can Make a Difference". The 2020 report measured the impact of campaign finance in the 2018 midterm election cycle and found that political action committees tend to "hedge their bets" when it comes to funding congressional candidates.[30][31]

Advocacy

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Fair Representation Act

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RepresentWomen advocates for the implementation of proportional representation in the United States through the use of ranked choice voting and multi-member districts.[32][33] They identify the Fair Representation Act (HR 4000), introduced by Rep. Donald Beyer Jr., as a way to achieve this reform to electoral systems.[34][35][36] The Fair Representation Act emerged from talks between Representative Beyer and FairVote, an organization dedicated to electoral reform. RepresentWomen's executive director Cynthia Richie Terrell played a key role in creating the Fair Representation Act.[37]

Ranked Choice Voting

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In addition to advocating for the Fair Representation Act, which would implement single transferable vote in the United States House of Representatives, RepresentWomen participates in advocacy geared towards advancing ranked choice voting efforts in the presidential election.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lublin, David (2018-03-05). "Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews Defends New Gender Balance Rules". Seventh State. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. ^ "Engaged Citizen Corner: Ranked Choice Voting". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Tuma, Mary (March 11, 2017). "SXSW Panel: Women's Representation: Five Steps to Win Gender Parity". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. ^ "Our Mission". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  6. ^ "RepresentWomen". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  7. ^ Hill, Steven (2014-03-07). "Why Does the US Still Have So Few Women in Office?". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. ^ Reilly, Maura (November 2, 2020). "This Index Scores All 50 States on Women's Representation. Just One State Scored an A. - Ms. Magazine". msmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. ^ Bland, David Travis (21 June 2017). "When It Comes to Women in Office, South Carolina Scores a D". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  10. ^ Stevens, Allison (2019-02-22). "Stronger together, Pa.'s 'Fab Four' women lawmakers make their mark on Capitol Hill". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  11. ^ Richie Terrell, Cynthia (February 2018). "2018 Gender Parity Index". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  12. ^ Ahrens, Corinne (October 22, 2019). "Ms. Magazine". Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Hellmich, Rebecca (November 4, 2014). "How Can We Get More Women In Elected Office? Look to New Hampshire". In These Times. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "2018 Gender Parity Index". Representation2020.com. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Richie Terrell, Cynthia; Lamendola, Courtney (July 2019). "2019 Gender Parity Index". RepresentWomen. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  18. ^ Demas, Susan J. (October 30, 2019). "Michigan Vaults to the 6th-Best State for Women in Office". Michigan Advance. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  19. ^ John, Sarah (August 2016). "The Impact of Ranked Choice Voting on Representation". fairvote.app.box.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  20. ^ Burton, Lynsi. "Ranked Choice Voting Gains Traction For 2020". Yes! Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  21. ^ Lamendola, Courtney (July 2020). "In Ranked Choice Elections, Women WIN". fairvote.app.box.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  22. ^ Young, Lauren (6 October 2020). "This Voting Method Could Solve a Lot of Problems With Elections". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  23. ^ Lee, Jeannette (2020-10-09). "A Guide to Alaska's Ballot Measure on Election Reforms". Sightline Institute. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  24. ^ "Current Projects". RepresentWomen. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  25. ^ Olson, Lynn (May 29, 2020). "Sustained Progress toward Gender Balance in Government Requires Systems Strategies Used Around the World". Montgomery County, MD Women's Democratic Club. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  26. ^ Risch, Emily (March 8, 2019). "Celebrate International Women's Day with electoral reform". FairVote. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  27. ^ Vento, Jen (October 30, 2020). "A Conversation with RepresentWomen's Cynthia Richie Terrell: Why Is the U.S. So Far Behind on Parity in Elected Office?". GenderAvenger. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. ^ OpenSecrets, Common Cause and Representation2020. "Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates" RepresentWomen. (2016-11). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  29. ^ "Individual and PAC Giving to Women Candidates". Common Cause. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  30. ^ Reilly, Maura (2020-07-15). "The Cost of Electing Women: How PACs and Donors can Make a Difference". Gender on the Ballot. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  31. ^ Dittmar, Kelly (October 2020). "Advancing Women's Political Power in the Next Century" (PDF). Boston University Law Review. 100:1165: 1665–1687.
  32. ^ Dittmar, Kelly (2018-06-12). "Ranked Choice Voting and Women: Q&A with Cynthia Terrell (RepresentWomen)". Gender Watch 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  33. ^ Dittmar, Kelly (2020-08-12). "Crafting U.S.-specific Solutions". Boston Review. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  34. ^ "Text - H.R.3057 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Fair Representation Act". www.congress.gov. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  35. ^ "All Info - H.R.4000 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Fair Representation Act". www.congress.gov. 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  36. ^ "Opinion | Should We Expand the House of Representatives?". The New York Times. 2018-11-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  37. ^ Richards, Parker (2018-10-27). "There's a Better Way to Elect House Members". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
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