Since the Election, More Than 4,500 Women Have Registered to Run for Office

[ehrnst]

For proof we need more women in politics, look no further than Ohio, where lawmakers just passed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country without considering why a woman would want an abortion in the first place. Women are still underrepresented at every level of politics in the U.S., but the fact that a woman just lost the race for the highest elected office in the nation seems to be galvanizing women into action, rather than deterring them.

According to Time, since the election, more than 4,500 women have registered to run for office through the organization She Should Run — a nonprofit that seeks to prepare women to run for elected office. Women can nominate themselves or their friends to run for office through the organization’s website, after which they’re guided to an online incubator that gives them steps they can take to prepare. They’re also invited to join a Facebook group of like-minded women: a built-in support group.

Erin Loos Cutraro, She Should Run’s co-founder and CEO, told Time she’d expected a few hundred new registrants at most, but she understands why Donald Trump’s election spurred women to action. “They[’re] … part of a fabric of voices that are wanting to be heard and wanting to make the case for smarter policy solutions,” she said.

There are a variety of reasons women don’t run for office — sexism, funding, and unwanted cultural perceptions of women in power, to name a few. But organizations like She Should Run are hoping to change that by giving women concrete steps to take and constant motivation to follow through. As Cutraro told the Cut in November, “The very act of planting a seed with a woman or girl … and encouraging her to see elected office as a place where she can make a difference is incredibly important.”

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/12/since-the-election-more-than-4-500-women-have-signed-up-to-run-for-office.html

[Dawson Leery]

1. kick

[jonno99]

2. Yep - +1 nt.

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. Super news!

[progressoid]

4. As long as they aren't Sarah Palin/Joni Ernst types.

[Adsos Letter]

6. That was my first response.

How many women voted for Trump?

Lots.

[BainsBane]

7. Here's the deal

Women hold views across the political spectrum. They don't need to meet your approval for them not to be excluded from full citizenship. And really, is it so much better if right-wing politicians are male? Why should women be excluded from the GOP to make you happy?

I'm guessing you didn't really think through your comments. You're thinking about who you would vote for, which is a separate issue from equal opportunity. If society is to become more equal, that means you are going to have to get used to seeing women in positions of power, even when you disagree with them.

[progressoid]

8. Oh, I thought it through.

I'm all for more women in positions of power. However, I remember when Ernst was elected here in Iowa. Someone trying to appeal to my liberalness told me, "well, at least your state finally elected a woman to a high office in Iowa. That's some progress."

No, it wasn't progress. Nothing she stands for is good for women, Iowa, or the nation. We had multiple opportunities to elect more competent women in the past (Patty Judge, Christie Vilsack, etc.) if we really wanted to. THAT would have been progress. Instead we got this friend of Trump.

?itok=s5cRfuvv

[arithia]

10. the funny thing about representation and diversity is

If we see it, it becomes normalized over time. Ernst may be a few straws short of a hay bale but her being in a visible position of power WILL inspire other women and girls. Never underestimate the power of "if they can do it, so can I."

Love her or despise her, women like Ernst help break the taboo.

[ehrnst]

14. Also- there have been times GOP women have broken ranks with the boys

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republican-women-are-unendorsing-trump-twice-as-fast-as-men-are/

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/gop-women-donald-trump-2016-214318

[ehrnst]

12. I would say the same for men that run on this platform, not just women. (nt)

[progressoid]

13. I absolutely agree.

[ehrnst]

11. First off, if they are, they aren't going to apply to run via the program

in the article, any more than they are going to get funding from EMILYs List.

Second, women are as diverse in their views as men are.

[BainsBane]

5. Awesome!

[arithia]

9. yesssssss

Step up. Speak up. Our voices have gone unheard for far too long in American politics.

Give em Hell, ladies!