What The Hell America!

Congressional business ground to a halt last week when U.S House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to accept majority support in the House to enable parents to participate remotely for 12 weeks after the birth of a child. Hopes for action on the proposal rose when President Donald Trump shared that he had spoken to Florida’s Anna Paulina Luna (the leading Republican proponent of the proposal) and told reporters, “If you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote. I’m in favor of that….I don’t know why it’s controversial.”

But hardliners in the Republican caucus apparently did not agree, and this week, they gained support for a weak alternative. From CBS News:

The fight in the House over whether to allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely around the birth of their child appears to be settled for now. The House voted Tuesday to effectively kill a discharge petition championed by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida that forced a vote on a measure that would have permitted remote voting for new parents. Instead, a separate resolution from Luna to allow ‘vote pairing’ was adopted…

Luna announced Sunday that she and Johnson had reached a deal to use vote pairing — an agreement between an absent member and a member who is physically present and plans to vote on the opposite side of the question, effectively canceling out the vote, according to the Congressional Research Service. The present member casts their vote, then withdraws it and announces that they have paired with the absent member. The votes are not included in the vote total, but their positions are published in the Congressional Record…

Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, who introduced the measure that would have allowed new parents to designate a colleague to vote for them for up to 12 weeks after they or their spouse gives birth, said Johnson “pulled out all the stops to prevent us from moving forward.” 

“The changes agreed upon by the speaker are not a win for us,” Pettersen said on the House floor on Tuesday while holding her young son. 

Hats off to Reps. Pettersen and Luna for leading on this issue. RepresentWomen would like to see the original proposal passed for all elected bodies, seeing it as pro-family for all Americans. In that same spirit, our elected leaders should create ongoing opportunities for working families to participate in hearings remotely. With today’s technology, fear of change is the only barrier to such innovations.

St. Louis Elects Third Consecutive Woman Mayor in “Bitter” Runoff

On April 8, St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer won a rematch runoff against incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones by 64 percent to 36 pecent. The city uniquely uses approval voting to narrow the field to two in a primary, then has a runoff. This year’s runoff had a turnout of only 25 percent of registered voters and, like the last mayoral runoff in 2021, was highly negative, as often seen in such head-to-head, “zero-sum” contests.” St. Louis NPR highlighted this year’s “bitter rematch” and that more than a million dollars was spent by Spencer and her allies.

On the positive side, both outgoing Mayor Jones and Mayor-elect Spencer should be applauded for continuing the city’s recent history of women’s leadership. Yahoo News helpfully put the fact that the city has elected three consecutive women mayors in context:

With Spencer’s victory and impending inauguration, St. Louis enters a rare club, becoming only the eighth major metropolitan city to have at least three women serve as mayor, joining Dallas, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Baltimore, Md.; Sacramento, Calif.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Fort Worth, Texas. St. Louis and Baltimore are also the only major U.S. cities to elect a woman for mayor three consecutive times.

For additional context in Midwestern politics, Chicago and Minneapolis have elected two women as mayor; Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha have each elected a woman; and Columbus, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Milwaukee have yet to have a woman serve as mayor.

Ranked-choice voting doesn’t eliminate negative campaigns, as seen in St. Louis. Still, it reduces them while expanding voter choice—a combination that RepresentWomen has found levels the playing field for women candidates. In last week’s Expand Democracy, Eveline Dowling provided more insight:

On March 30th, four candidates for New York City mayor endorsed collectively by the Working Families Party arrived arm in arm at a City Hall pressconference. “In a moment when people tell us that politics is simply division, I am proud to stand with candidates who are united in the belief that we have to turn the page on disgraced leaders,” said Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who has been second in recent polls behind frontrunner Andrew Cuomo.

This collegiality among candidates competing for the same voters is only possible due to the city’s ranked-choice voting (RCV) system, as explored in academic literature. Greater campaign civility and citizen perceptions of fairness in RCV elections has been observed at the local level in the United States. Donovan et al. (2016) and John and Douglas (2017) found that voters in RCV cities rated campaigns as less negative, were more satisfied with campaign conduct, and perceived less criticism between the candidates. In related research, McGinn (2020) identifies that candidate debates tend to be more civil and exhibit less negativity in RCV elections. Additional findings can be found in Reilly, 2002; Kropf 2021; Tolbert and Donovan 2024.

This does not imply that negative campaigning does not exist; rather, it suggests that individuals who are more closely aligned can support each other while reducing hostility during elections. Being a good candidate means not only highlighting differences but also seeking common ground with fellow candidates. The New York primary is demonstrating this exact phenomenon.

Learn more about statistics on the impact of ranked-choice voting on outcomes for women.

Three Sobering Reports on Women and Elections Around the World

We have had no shortage of stories and analysis to uplift in the Weekend Reading. I wanted to take a moment to spotlight three exceptionally important March releases with a common theme: Women worldwide have made giant strides in the 21st century toward parity, but that progress is stalling and, in some cases, being reversed.

International Parliamentary Union With Sobering Decades-Long Perspective

The invaluable Inter-Parliamentary Union released “Women in Parliament 1995-2025.” From the report’s introduction:

A new IPU report analyzing three decades of women in national parliaments reveals that the percentage of seats held by women has risen from 11.3% in 1995 to 27.2% in 2025. The report, Women in Parliament 1995-2025, commemorates 30 years since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the landmark UN framework that set out a roadmap for gender equality and women’s rights.

The report shows that, from 2000 to 2015, the proportion of women in parliament rose steadily. However, in recent years, this progress has slowed.

And in 2024, despite a high number of elections with 73 chamber renewals globally, women’s parliamentary representation increased by only 0.3 percentage points, marking the slowest rate of progress since 2017. Read the press release

Council on Foreign Relations with an Update on Its Innovative Women’s Power Index

The Council on Foreign Relations has a Women’s Power Index tool that deserves attention. Here is an excerpt from their March report “Women’s Power Index Shows Stalled Progress for Women’s Political Participation“:

The Women and Foreign Policy program’s most recent update of the “Women’s Power Index” ranks 193 United Nations (UN) member states on their progress toward gender parity in political participation. It analyzes the proportion of women who serve as heads of state or government, in cabinets, in national legislatures, as candidates for national legislatures, and in local government bodies, and visualizes the gender gap in political representation.  

Over the past year global progress toward gender parity in political representation has remained flat at 29 on the 100-point aggregate scale employed in which a 100-point score represents gender parity. The number of countries that are halfway or more to parity has remained the same. Twenty-eight countries exceeded fifty in their gender parity score, including Canada, Dominica, Moldova, and the United Kingdom in the past year. Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, and Senegal fell below that halfway to parity mark in the past year. The U.S. gender parity score is slightly above the global average at 35. Iceland has maintained its position in first place, with a score of 86, Mexico and Andorra occupy second and third place, with scores of 75 and 73, respectively. 

Progress in women’s political leadership at the national level has been stalling recently. Since the end of World War II, 82 of the 193 countries have elected a female head of state or government, with the most progress coming in the past two decades. Eleven countries elected their first woman into high office during the 2000s, twenty-five in the 2010s, and seventeen thus far in the 2020s.

Colmena Fund Report on 2024 Elections Also Sees Stagnation for Women

Saskia Brechenmacher, Senior Fellow for Democracy, Conflict & Governance at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is the author of a new report from the Colmena Fund on “The 2024 Super Election Year for Women in Politics: Stagnation, Setbacks, and Surprising Wins.” From the introduction:

“Globally, women’s parliamentary representation and the number of countries led by women failed to increase. The barriers to reaching gender parity in politics are mounting, from continuing democratic erosion and rising ethno-nationalism to a widening pushback against progressive gender norms in different parts of the world. Yet looking beyond global and regional averages also reveals surprising bright spots.

In countries as diverse as Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom, more women are serving in political office than ever before. Several countries elected their first-ever female presidents, including Mexico and Namibia. This report analyzes advances and setbacks in women’s political representation in 2024, building on the mid-year assessment published by the Colmena Fund for Women’s Political Power in October.

It begins by examining global trend lines in women’s parliamentary and executive representation, highlighting both progress and backsliding. It then turns to four countries that held significant elections over the past year and interrogates their impact on women’s political power: the Dominican Republic, India, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. To close, the analysis draws attention to several broader themes that emerged from the electoral contests of the past year.

Australia’s May 3 Elections with Ranked-Choice Voting and the “Teal Independents”

One of 2022’s most intriguing political stories came from Australia, where the “Teal Independents” had unexpected electoral success. Six women running as independents won in historically conservative districts, benefiting from the freedom created by the nation’s ranked-choice voting system while campaigning on tackling climate change, ethics in government, and equality for women.

The Teal movement seeks to build on its success in Australia’s upcoming May 3 elections, once again featuring many women running as independents. Analysts suggest that the success of such candidates has basically ended the concept of “safe seats” in Australia, even within a single-member district system. Here’s more on this year’s class of “Teals” from The Financial Review:

The wave of teal independents at the 2022 federal election rocked the political establishment and prompted declarations that the two-party system was splintering. Backed by nearly $10 million from Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200, six professional women swept into parliament (joining teal independent Zali Steggall) representing affluent inner-city electorates once thought unlosable by the Liberal Party.Climate 200 – which describes itself as a crowdfunding initiative working to level the political playing field – backs candidates with clear community support who adhere to core principles, including support for scientific responses to climate change, integrity in politics, and respect for women….The question facing the Coalition before the election, which is due on or before May 17, is whether the teal wave hit a high watermark three years ago and is now receding, or whether the momentum will keep going. Climate 200 is backing 35 community independent candidates. Here are the dozen races to keep an eye on and the favourites, based on an analysis of The Australian Financial Review/Freshwater poll from February. 

I greatly enjoyed meeting Kate Chaney, one of the successful Teals from 2022, when speaking at the 2023 Athens Democracy Forum. Chaney is up for election again.

Virginia Set to Make History With All-Women Gubernatorial Race

Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial elections will likely result in the state’s first woman governor. The GOP selected Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, while Democrats have former Rep. Abigail Spanberger as their uncontested nominee. Earle-Sears could also become the first Black woman governor in U.S. history. Virginia notably has term limits for governors, which contributed to a two-women race as current governor Glen Youngkin must step down. 

Virginia currently has a “D” letter grade in our 2024 Gender Parity Index; seeing how that score changes in upcoming releases will be interesting.

Sabrina Moreno writes for Axios Richmond: 

Virginia will likely elect its first woman governor this year.

Why it matters: The Commonwealth’s gubernatorial race, which has long been eyed as an early political test after a presidential election, is set to be one of the most historic elections in state history.

Driving the news: Over the weekend, the state GOP announced that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears will be the party’s nominee for governor in November.

Former state Sen. Amanda Chase, who describes herself as “Trump in heels,” was vying for the GOP ticket but failed to make the ballot.

Chase told Virginia Scope she’ll be backing Earle-Sears and confirmed to the Washington Post she won’t be running as an independent.

Former Del. Dave LaRock, another potential rival to Earle-Sears, was also short of the 10,000 signatures needed to qualify.

Close the Gap California Helps Drive Historic Gender Parity in State Legislature with Strategic Recruitment Model

A new report by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) evaluates Close the Gap’s impact. It credits the organization’s strategic, early recruitment model, which identifies promising, winnable districts ahead of elections, engages local experts, and supports potential women candidates with information, mentorship, and connections. This has led to 25 recruits now serving in the Legislature. 

Kelly Ditmar writes for Forbes:

Close the Gap California was launched in 2013 with a mission to achieve gender parity in the California Legislature by 2028. Just over ten years later, women hold just over 48% of seats in the legislature and achieved gender parity in the senate for the first time as a result of election 2024. The gains for Democratic women, the target of Close the Gap’s work, have been even more striking. From 2013 to 2024, the number of Democratic women state legislators in California has more than doubled and women are now more than half of all Democrats in the legislature.

Women in High-Risk Seats in Australian Elections

Next month, Australia is holding a federal election! According to a new report released by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at ANU, fewer women than men are running for office, and those running are in contested or difficult-to-win seats.  Additionally, this year’s women candidates are “less likely to be from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, have a disability, or belong to the LGBTQIA+ communities than male candidates,” highlighting further hurdles for women and non-binary candidates running for office in Australia. Our 2023 Oceania Country Brief provides more context on women’s representation in Australia. 

Rebeka Selmeczki writes in the ANU Reporter: 

According to report co-author, Dr Elise Stephenson, there has been a notable increase in women’s representation for Labor this election compared to the last one, when 46 per cent of its candidates were women. 

“The Coalition, however, continues to lag behind, with only a marginal improvement from the previous election, where only 29 per cent of candidates were women compared to 32 per cent this election,” she said.“It’s not just about the number of women running, but also the type of seats they are contesting. Across both major parties, women candidates are more likely to be placed in more challenging, ‘glass cliff’ seats compared to men.“

A Room in the Castle

I saw A Room in the Castle by Lauren M. Gunderson on Sunday, which tells the story of Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia and Gertrude—here is a snippet from the program:

“A Room in the Castle boldly gives the women of Hamlet the opportunity to be seen and heard by an audience as they are, and not merely how Hamlet and the play’s other male characters perceive them. While the men run amok around the castle, wreaking havoc on Denmark, feigning madness, and committing murders, Gunderson dares to ask the glaringly obvious question: Where are the women? And would all of this chaos happen if the women were in charge?” 

The play seemed particularly timely given our political moment and had a very clear message – when women work together, survival is possible.

RepresentWomen colleague Alissa Bombardier Shaw and I attended a lovely sunlit reception hosted by the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., this week. We had some great conversations with women’s representation believers and celebrated Cindy Hall on her retirement.

That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend!

P.S.  Last weekend was my birthday, and while I am grateful for all the greetings on social media platforms, a beautiful blanket knitted by my daughter Anna Richie, and an evening out with dear friends Susannah Wellford and Aaron Kisner to celebrate, I am especially grateful for the long-standing friendships with classmates from Swarthmore College. A special thanks goes to then-Swarthmore College dean Janet Smith Dickerson who put me in a quint my first year with four amazing women including Melanie Humble and Rachel O’Malley.

Gorgeous blanket knitted by my daughter Anna Richie