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We need to push harder for women’s representation in leadership

Editorial / Opinion Piece / Blog Post

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January 10, 2023

We need to push harder for women’s representation in leadership

Source: Ms. Magazine

More than 50 percent of the U.S. population is female, so it begs the question: Why are we still so underrepresented in politics?

Across the country and in our nation’s capital, our newly elected leaders will soon have taken their oaths of office to begin or renew their tenures. These orderly and peaceful transfers of power are worth celebrating, especially in these tumultuous times.

But as someone who’s dedicated my entire adult life to working for equal opportunity for women, my own celebration is tinged with ambivalence. Yes, it’s great that we have three more women governors now, a new record. And that an additional two seats in Congress will be held by women, which is welcome news. 

But when you look at those numbers more closely, the picture isn’t quite so bright: Women are still nowhere near where we deserve to be.

Only 12 of the 50 state governors are women—that’s less than 25 percent. And while there are a record 124 women in Congress, they’re still only about a quarter of the entire elected body.

Click here to read the full article published by Ms. Magazine on 5 January 2023.

Author
Gloria L. Blackwell

More than 50 percent of the U.S. population is female, so it begs the question: Why are we still so underrepresented in politics?

Across the country and in our nation’s capital, our newly elected leaders will soon have taken their oaths of office to begin or renew their tenures. These orderly and peaceful transfers of power are worth celebrating, especially in these tumultuous times.

But as someone who’s dedicated my entire adult life to working for equal opportunity for women, my own celebration is tinged with ambivalence. Yes, it’s great that we have three more women governors now, a new record. And that an additional two seats in Congress will be held by women, which is welcome news. 

But when you look at those numbers more closely, the picture isn’t quite so bright: Women are still nowhere near where we deserve to be.

Only 12 of the 50 state governors are women—that’s less than 25 percent. And while there are a record 124 women in Congress, they’re still only about a quarter of the entire elected body.

Click here to read the full article published by Ms. Magazine on 5 January 2023.

Author
Gloria L. Blackwell

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