No U.S. state legislature has ever been majority-women — until now
It’s been 20 years, but Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton still remembers the cigar smoke. During her first year as a Nevada state senator in 1999, she heard about a meeting happening in her committee chairman’s office without her. So she and a female lobbyist walked in through the side door and… Read More
New Jersey’s First South Asian Woman Mayor Is Breaking Boundaries
When Sadaf Jaffer first moved to Montgomery Township in 2012, the five elected officials on the affluent New Jersey town’s governing body were all white Republicans. But the town itself was becoming increasingly diverse and Democratic, and she came to feel that… Read More
South Asian American woman breaks boundaries with historic mayoral election
The city of Montgomery, New Jersey recently swore in the first female South Asian mayor in the United States’ east coast. Sadaf Jaffer, a Harvard graduate, mother, activist and five-year resident of Montgomery, joins the list of historic elections in 2018.The Pakistani American has dedicated herself to social justice and… Read More
Year of the woman, part 2
Around this time last year, there was much excitement and speculation wondering if more women would run for public office in response to extremist views held by Trump’s administration. Would it truly be a year of the woman with unprecedented numbers running — and winning? Turned out that in 2018,… Read More
Kamala Harris was shaped by the crucible of San Francisco politics
When Kamala Harris looks back on her first campaign, a run for San Francisco district attorney, she remembers a brutal awakening. “San Francisco is hard-knocks politics,” the freshly declared 2020 White House hopeful once said in an interview. “People sling mud. They punch the gut.” San Francisco is indeed a… Read More
For Democrats, women in 2020 may offer opportunity and hard choices
WASHINGTON — Just over two decades ago, Barbara Lee, the Boston-based philanthropist and Democratic donor, distributed a ballot in national magazines featuring 20 women she believed were qualified to run for president. Readers were asked to pick a favorite. The idea behind the project? To expose American voters to how… Read More
“Voters…Hear Us Roar!”
It’s Labor Day at the headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Birmingham. A picnic has been set up with an inflatable water slide for the kids, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and another holiday staple… “Hi, I’m Jenn…” Yes, we mean politics. Candidates for circuit… Read More
Former Creative Director of Zac Posen Debuts a Design in Honor of the Newly Elected Women in Congress
As a record setting number of women are being sworn into Congress today, expect to see fashionable feminist donning something unique: a cult-status scarf by DC-based label Resistance by Design. Owners of the wispy accessory, printed with the portraits of 209 of the women who ran for office in… Read More
Elected women win across the nation on Election Day
LANE COUNTY, Ore. – The mid-terms ended in a historic win for women across the country. The U.S. House will seat the highest amount of females come next year’s session. But, elected women are winning at local levels, too, thanks to a national organization. “Thank you so much,” Gov. Kate… Read More
Young women are one of the most potent political forces of 2018
The 2018 midterms could sweep Democrats back into power in Congress. But that might not be the only change: Young, mostly Democratic women running for Congress in districts across the country could also win and take their place in a body historically dominated by older men. The… Read More