USA

Liz Cheney cited family health concerns as her reason for dropping out of the Wyoming Senate race, but her exit Monday came after months of struggling to gain traction in a Republican primary challenge to Sen. Michael B. Enzi.

Nearly six months after announcing her first bid for public office, the campaign of the former State Department official and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney had grabbed more headlines for causing intrafamily drama than for offering a decisive argument for her candidacy.

Wendy Davis isn't the only one who could make history.

In November, Cambridge voters elected eight men and one woman to serve on the nine-member City Council. It’s the first time in decades that only one woman has served on the council, prompting many residents to wonder how a city known for its liberalism and diversity could have such a lopsided field of representatives. The Chronicle spoke with Emerge Massachusetts executive director Taylor Woods-Gauthier about why gender balance in politics is important and how to encourage more women to run.

There's still a gender gap when it comes to positions of power. But 2013 was a notable year for women in politics, in the U.S. and elsewhere.

As editors at The Story Exchange, we welcome such progress. When there are more females holding office, it stands to reason we'll see more gains in women's health, education and economic empowerment. And of course, we're all about role models. If "Your Honor" is a woman, that sends a strong message -- especially to the younger generation -- that any ambitious dream is possible.

With her confirmation to the second highest court in the nation very early Thursday morning, Judge Nina Pillard should immediately rocket to the top of the Democratic shortlist of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. Though there are a number of Democratic judges who possess the youth, brilliance and legal credentials required from a new Supreme Court justice, Pillard brings something to the bench that is quite rare among judges — she’s won two of the most important civil rights victories to reach the Supreme Court during her career.

Remarks by Catherine M. Russell, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Offices in Washington, DC

On the third floor of Apex Town Hall, inside council chambers, visitors got to see a rare sight.

Two women, Nicole Dozier and Denise Wilkie, were sworn into office. They are the first women to serve on the Apex Town Council in 12 years.

As female elected officials, they are a rarity not only in Wake County but on a state and national level.

We invite you to read the full article published December 8, 2013

While China’s air defense zone issues was topmost on everyone’s mind during United States Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Japan this week, he also had other agenda on his plate. Together with U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues Cathy Russell, he met with those who are helping advance women’s roles in the corporate world and commended Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his policies to help make that a cornerstone of the Japanese economy.

Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand explained Wednesday how politics would be different with more women in office.

“If the Congress today — there are only 20 women out of the 100 in the U.S. Senate. … Obviously that’s not representative of America,” Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said at POLITICO's Women Rule Summit. “If it was 51 percent in the Congress, we wouldn’t be wasting time talking about access to contraception, we’d be talking about the economy.”