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Emerge New York launched in 2017 as the premier campaign-training program for Democratic women in the state. Emerge inspires women to run for public office, and hones their skills to win. Our goal is clear: to increase the number of Democratic women in all levels of public office throughout New York. Emerge New York is part of a network of 25 other state affiliates of the national organization, Emerge America.
Emerge New York trains the next Democratic women leaders in our state.
While women comprise more than 50% of the electorate, they still hold just 29% of elected offices in this country. In the 229 years since statehood, New York has sent only twenty Democratic women to Congress and has never elected a female governor. In terms of having a proportional number of women serving in state legislature, New York only ranks 20th in the nation. Women’s representation in the New York Legislature has stagnated over the last 10 years, with women never comprising more than 25.8% it. While the national representation of women in the legislature has been trending upward, New York has been unable to make significant strides in the number of Democratic women elected, and the pipeline for future female leaders is decreasing.
Studies show women tend to introduce more bills in Congress, be more collaborative and consensus driven, and lead on issues related to family, health care, childcare, education, violence against women and reproductive health. That’s why increasing the number of Democratic women candidates is so important. Emerge New York intends to level the playing field, de-mystify the process of engaging in politics, and identify and train women who have thought about running for office, but who may assume they lack the necessary experience or connections to mount a successful campaign.
Emerge New York‘s role is to: