Why we need more women
It is essential to the health and future of our country that 50% of our population have equal power and leadership. WCF is dedicated to helping this country achieve equality in public life for women.
Where we stand today
Despite our progress, women still lag far behind men in local, state, and federal office:
- Women hold only 17% of the seats in Congress
- State Legislatures only have 24% women
- Only 6 out of 50 states have a female governor
The United States trails behind the rest of the world - ranking 84th in the number of women in our national legislature.*
Also, 50% less women than men consider of running for office. Of those, 30%
less actually run, with only a fraction seeking higher office. (Lawless and Fox 2005).
Our She Should Run™ program gets women to think about running and helps them make a decision.
Research
Research continues to show the positive influence that women's unique leadership style has on decision making. It's proven that women legislate differently - perhaps more effectively - than men. They're more likely to collaborate and ensure a win-win decision. Also, women tend to run for office because they want to get something done, not for the pure sport of politics.
In a Washington Post article, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman pointed to research showing that Fortune 500 companies with more women at the top outperformed those that didn’t:
Research from the National Council for Research on Women confirms this, saying that women consider different issues and are more collaborative while making decisions, which leads to more win-win outcomes. But this can’t happen when there aren’t enough women at the
table:
*Note: The U.S. is listed as 74th, but after accounting for tied rankings of other countries, the ranking for the U.S. is 84th.
