We won't have more women in office

At least not any time soon, not if we keep this up. That's the message we heard (loudly) this week with the release of a new study from the Women & Politics Institute at American University. It's worth the 20 minutes to read the study itself, I promise.

The main take away is this: We need to spend more time encouraging women to run for office. All women, but especially young women. And all offices, even college student government. Now, I don't want to say I told you so, but I did. It's not too late to keep that New Year's Resolution.

Another take away from the study has gotten even more attention: it means more for a young woman's future political ambition to work and be involved in politics at all than it does to simply have the role models of women in office in front of her. Here's how study co-author Jennifer Lawless put it to the Atlantic:

"Certainly having Nancy Pelosi be speaker of the House suggests that a woman can get elected and become speaker of the House and that's a vital ingredient," Lawless said. "But having an internship in any member of Congress' office probably confers a greater degree of confidence, experience, skills, and interest in terms of someone's own future potential candidacy than the mere presence of a female speaker."

Ok, so how do we get more young women working in politics?  There are some remarkable resources. Here are a few:

The Star Fellowship at Running Start. This program not only places college women in internships on Capitol Hill with housing and a living stipend but also provides them with ongoing mentoring and support throughout their time in Washington and long after they leave. Applications for Fall 2013 are due April 8!!!

The Women's Congressional Staff Association. More than just a networking group for Hill staffers (although it's that too) WCSA runs a mentoring program that pairs staffers with more senior women on the Hill for four-month stints. In a unique twist, the program requires all women requesting a mentor to also serve as a mentor to someone more junior than herself. This not only solves the problem of a shortage of mentors that some programs have, but also reminds even relatively junior staffers that they have something valuable to offer others.

Do you have other ideas? An opening in your office? Comment below!

New Year's Resolutions

Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? Have you broken them already? Still searching?


Photo courtesy of Nancy Pelosi's photostream on Flickr

Resolve to have some style in politics:

1. Show a girl she can lead. Highlight good examples. Be a good example yourself. Consider supporting one of the many wonderful organizations that support girls in leadership - I like Running Start.

2. Support a woman running for office. Look high AND low - the House is full now, but your county, city or school board may have elections this fall or even this spring. And again, there are incredible organizations like Emily's List to help you support some of them.

3. Seriously consider running for office yourself. We know that one reason we don't have anywhere near gender parity in elected office (even in this banner year for Congress) is that not enough women run for office to begin with. Don't imagine that you aren't qualified or aren't ready. You probably are, and if you aren't you can get there. And guess what? You don't have to have it all perfectly figured out. Consider a few tools, like Kathy Groob's excellent Pink Politics guide to preparing for a campaign.

What to wear to your polling place

Comfortable shoes! Hahaha!

Ok, this is sort of a joke, but it sort of isn't. Somehow, I always imagine this fantasy polling place where I waltz in, flip some levers, and affix a sticker to my blouse as I prance off to work five minutes later. Perhaps this has something to do with my first voting experience at 18, in a local school board election in September, where I got to cast a ballot for my dad and this guy. No lines then. But I digress. The reality is that you should be prepared to wait. I'm not suggesting you do anything crazy, just maybe don't wear the 4 inch platforms that look great under your desk but don't hold for an hour straight on your feet. Maybe something more like this:


Many of the women we've written about on this blog are on ballots today: Claire McCaskill,  Elizabeth Warren, and of course all the women (and men) in the House of Representatives. I hope you'll judge them all by their words, and not their clothes.

If you've somehow made it here but still don't know what's up today, go here and find out what you need to know. Voting matters!

Get Involved: ElectWomen Magazine

We've talked before about how female candidates feel a greater need to be prepared and experienced than their male counterparts do before running for elected office. One way to feel prepared is to read, so I have some reading for you: ElectWomen Magazine. Here's publisher Kathy Groob on why she founded the site:


ElectWomen is a great compilation of original writing and links from around the web on women's leadership and electoral politics. There's also a great community on the facebook page, which adds a much needed interactive element to the conversation.

Get Involved: Kirsten Gillibrand's advice

Here's a quick Q&A with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on getting involved in politics. Not exactly groundbreaking advice, but enthusiastically delivered:

It's really interesting to me that she notes that she did not one, not two but three different training programs for women candidates before she ran for office, and she recommends doing so to young women considering a run. I'm of two minds about this advice to some extent. It's not that I don't think the programs have value - I've even highlighted some for you on more than one occasion. It's just that we might do well to remember that not only do most male candidates not go through so much candidate training (especially at the most local levels), but the very idea often doesn't even occur to them.

For more on how men and women tend to make different decisions about political involvement and running for office, I insist that you read Madeleine Kunin's Pearls Politics and Power.

Get Involved: Running Start

And now for the next installment of our Get Involved series: Running Start.

Running Start stands out in it mission to get not just women involved in politics, but very young women and girls. You can read more about their mission and programs on their website here. I had the opportunity a few months ago to attend an event for DC interns and young professionals with Rep. Jackie Speier, and it was clear that they view their mission as not just training and organizing, but inspiring young women, and they know just how to do it.

They recently awarded the first Christina Taylor Green Scholarship award, and I could tell you about it, but I'd rather let Diane Sawyer do it:




Ellie Van Houtte wrote a great post about this organization as well, which you should definitely check out.

Get Involved: The White House Project

And now for something new at Style of Politics: a periodic feature called "Get Involved," profiling organizations, opportunities and events that put women in politics into action.

Today, The White House Project.

You can read more extensively about the work and mission of this organization on their website here, which centers on filling the leadership pipeline in civic and corporate arenas with women.

What I think is remarkable is that the White House Project is at a moment of transforming transition: their visionary founder Marie C. Wilson has passed the leadership baton to a new president, Tiffany Dufu. Tiffany is young, ambitious, dynamic and most critically, she is ready and eager to make her own path for the White House Project.  She spoke recently at a luncheon in Washington, DC about her plans as president, part of which include giving the organization more of a presence here, in addition to their headquarters in New York and regional centers around the country.

So, my point is this: if you're in DC, get ready for more from the White House Project. You might want to check out the DC Leadership Circle. And if you're in New York, they're hiring! To go along with Tiffany's new presidency, the organization is seeking a Chief Operating Officer. It's an incredible opportunity, so check it out.