Why we need more women
Why we need to achieve gender equality for women in public office
WCF is dedicated to helping this country achieve equality in public life for women. It is essential to the health and future of our country that 50% of our population have equal power and leadership.
Despite our progress, women still lag far behind men in local, state, and federal office:
- Women only make up 17% of members of Congress
- State legislatures only have 23.5% women
- Women hold 22% of state senate seats and 24% of state house seats
Also, only 10% of women have ever thought about running for office, compared with 20% of men. (Lawless and Fox 2005) Our She Should Run™ program gets women to think about running and helps them make a decision.
According to the White House Project and CAWP:
Women in Statewide Elective Executive Office 2007 – 77 women of 315 = 24.4%
9 Governors
11 Lieutenant Governors
4 Attorney Generals
12 Secretaries of State
11 State Treasurers/Chief Financial Officers
6 State Auditors
4 State Comptrollers
8 Chief State Education Officials
2 Commissioners of Insurance
1 Commissioner of Labor
2 Corporation Commissioners
5 Public Service Commissioners
1 Public Regulation Commissioner
1 Railroad Commissioner
*Note: The U.S. is listed as 73rd, but after accounting for tied rankings of other countries, the ranking for the U.S. is 84th.
