Women Running for Office: Progress made, challenges ahead

In the 20 years since EMILY’s List was founded, the number of women serving at every level of elected office has increased significantly. Still, barriers remain for women candidates. For example, women candidates are still less likely to receive institutional support from traditional sources.

EMILY’s List is working to remove those barriers and smooth the way for candidates by recruiting qualified women to run for office and providing training and financial support for pro-choice Democratic women candidates. While we have made a great deal of progress, there is much more to be done to ensure that women have the opportunity to run – and win.

Electing women changes the process and results of policymaking. Having women’s voices at every level of government is integral to promoting a progressive agenda. Once elected, women sponsor and push for passage of legislation that directly affects families and children, and play a leading role in shaping policy at every level of government.

For as much progress as we’ve made, women are still underrepresented at all levels of elected office.

• While the number of women in Congress has more than tripled since 1985, women still make up only 15 percent of the current Congress.
• Only eight states have women governors.
• Only 22.5 percent of state legislators are women.
• In 2004, the U.S. ranked 59th among nations for the number of women serving in national legislatures (i.e., Congress). (Sources: Center for American Women in Politics, Women in National Parliaments)

Women are less likely than men to consider running for office, but their interest increases significantly when they receive support from institutional sources.

• Women are twice as likely as men to view themselves as “not at all qualified” to run for office.
• Men are 60 percent as likely as women to view themselves as “very qualified” to run for office.
• A national study of women running for office found that women are less likely than men to have received the suggestion to run for office from party and elected officials, political activists, or family and friends.
• The same study found that when women receive external support from formal and informal political and non-political sources, they are twice as likely to run.

(Source: “Why Don’t Women Run for Office?”, Brown University Policy Report, January 2004)

Across the board, voters want to see more women in office.

• According to the EMILY’s List Women’s Monitor, nearly three in four (72 percent) voters agree with the statement, “all other things being equal, I think it would be better if more women were elected to important political offices such as governor, U.S. senator, and Congress.” Sixty-nine percent of men and 75 percent of women surveyed agree with this statement.
• In an EMILY’s List Women’s Monitor survey conducted before the 2004 election, a majority of women swing voters claimed that they thought women candidates were more capable than men to handle important issues such as reducing taxes and improving education and health care.
• A February 2005 nationwide poll conducted by Hearst Newspapers and Siena College revealed that 81 percent of registered voters would vote for a woman for president of the United States.

Once elected, women play a significant role in shaping progressive policy.

• Studies have shown that women in Congress generally feel they have a special obligation to represent the interests of women, whether or not it was their top priority.
• Women in Congress also feel responsible for helping other women achieve leadership positions.
• Women legislators are more likely than men to bring citizens into the political process, support open government, and provide full access to policymaking for groups previously denied access.
• Democratic women legislators are particularly active in reshaping the policy agenda to benefit families.

(Sources: “Legislating by and for Women” and “The Impact of Women in Public Office,” Center for American Women in Politics)