U.S. midterm elections: The women who made history
25 women were nominated for governor by the two major parties, and a record number of women were nominees for governor and state legislatures.
LEARN MOREPosted: 1:38 p.m. EDT Mar 13, 2023
Women make up 51% of the U.S. population — but they represent less than a third of the country’s elected leaders, according to nonprofit She Should Run.
This is especially daunting given recent controversies surrounding women’s rights — namely the revocation of Roe v. Wade — where most of the decision makers are not women.
Only 150 of 535 seats in Congress are held by women, but this is still a record high, according to the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.
Organizations like She Should Run are working to help get more women in office through workshops and events, email courses and a plethora of other resources. To date, over 30,000 women have explored the possibility of running for office by joining the She Should Run community.
The nonprofit wants to see 250,000 women run for local, state and federal offices by 2030.
In an op-ed in Fortune Magazine following a leaked opinion last year that abortion rights could be slashed, She Should Run CEO and Founder Erin Loos Cutraro said it may take women getting angry to realize the importance of representation in government.
"Rage is a powerful motivator," she said. "A significant number of American women would be more likely to consider a future run for office as a result of some spark of angst, and a realization that no one but her is going to do anything about it. So yes, I hope women everywhere are, for a lack of a better word, enraged. I want them to turn their anger into action by considering a place in elected office for themselves or encouraging another woman to run."
Vote Run Lead is another organization setting aim at gender inequities in office. The nonprofit offers a number of resources to help women on their political journeys.
After working on it for an entire year, Vote Run Lead launched its digital tool VRLHQ.org in time for Women’s History Month; it provides step-by-step support in running for office, from the planning process to building a team to talking to voters and more.
"Running for office or working on a campaign is one of the hardest things you will ever do, and one of the best things you can do," U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado said in a press release. "Having Vote Run Lead support you and provide the resources like VRLHQ makes a huge difference."
At the current rate, it will take 60 years to achieve reflective representation in state governments alone, according to Vote Run Lead.
