While women are making major strides in runing for office, the wave has somewhat subsided. After voters elected women to Congress in record-breaking numbers in the last three election cycles, the number of women candidates is now down in nearly every category.
Fifty women candidates filed to run for Senate nationwide in 2024, compared to 70 in 2022. Nine have won primaries in the 18 states that held them so far, and more than 30 women have filed in states that haven’t held their primaries yet, the center’s researchers said.
In races for the House of Representatives, 466 women have filed to run and 171 of them have won their primary, according to the center. That’s down from the 583 women who filed to run in 2020 and the 298 women who won their party’s nomination. More than 300 women are still in the running in states still holding primaries. The record for women nominees — 23 candidates — was set in 2018.
The number of Republican women House candidates saw the largest drop of 36% from 2020 to 2024, and in the Senate, nearly 45%, the center said. Democratic women candidates are down by about 7% in the House, and nearly 10% in the Senate. Women are historically underrepresented in elected office. Currently, 25 women serve in the 100-member Senate, and 125 women serve in the 435-member House of Representatives.
The only new record broken this year was the number of Latina or Hispanic women running for U.S. Senate. Four Latinas ran for Senate, up from the previous record of three set in 2022.
For government affairs teams, helping female candidates and incumbents can be strategically beneficial, but it can also help with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and help build a culture of equality, both within your organization and in your industry. For teams that want to work toward equality, there is much that can be done.
Diversify Your Support. If your organization supports candidates, take a look at the list. Are women well represented? Your team may be able to do more to support female candidates who agree with you on key issues, whether they are at the federal state or local level. It may not happen overnight. But looking at candidates through the prism of gender could diversify your support over time.
Review Your Contributions. The same strategy works for financial support. Organizations that run a political action committee can look at contributions through the lens of gender. Again, adjusting support may not be something you can do immediately. But keeping gender top-of-mind will increase your awareness over time.
Examine Your Lists. What is the gender breakdown of your grassroots audience? How about your grasstops leaders? If women are underrepresented, consider running strategic campaigns designed to attract women to your organization. Petition campaigns are a good vehicle.
Look for Opportunities. Your organization can look for opportunities to launch campaigns on issues that directly impact women, or support other organizations that do so. International Women’s Day on March 8, and this year’s #BreaktheBias campaign, may be an opportunity. This is one area where you can get creative.At a fly-in just before the pandemic struck, building materials manufacturer CRH brought 35 company leaders—all of them women—to Washington to meet with members of Congress.
The Women’s Impact Conference, as they called it, coincided with Women in Construction Week and the group divided up and met with 45 representatives, senators and chiefs of staff. It made the point that CRH is serious about promoting women.“We’re not the most diverse industry,” said John Hay, senior vice president for government relations at CRH. “And we’re trying hard to change that.”
According to Pew Research Center, about two-thirds of Americans say it is easier for men than women to get elected to high political offices. This perception of women in leadership leads to the Gender Gap in Political Ambition. From a young age, women are less likely than men to receive encouragement to run for office. Additionally, women are less likely than men to think they are qualified candidates. On average women have to be asked seven times to consider running for an elected position.
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