Losing Ground in 2008?

Today Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is the front runner to win the Democratic nomination for President.  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House.  These two remarkable women show just how far we’ve come in closing the gender gap in politics. 

But having a handful of women in high profile positions is simply not enough.  An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal “Women’s March Into Office Slows”, explained that our progress in electing more women in public office could slow or even revert in the 2008 elections.

In 2008 women on both sides of the aisle stand to lose two of the nine governorships we currently hold.  Of the 75 most vulnerable incumbents in the House of Representatives – 14 are women and the three women in the Senate who are up for election in 2008 face serious competition. 

While women have stepped up to the plate as challengers in several key elections there are many more races where no women have announced their candidacy (or are even seriously considering a run for office).

So what gives? With women making up 53% of all voters, why aren’t more women in office?  According to the Wall Street Journal:


The main reason for the apparent slowdown: Women remain less likely to run for public office than men. They first need to be recruited and assured of their qualifications, research shows. "Women tend to run because they're concerned about an issue; they don't wake up thinking they want to be governor the way men do," says Jeanne Shaheen, a former three-term governor of New Hampshire who is now the director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

Research shows that women are less likely to enter competitive races or races in which their opponent is a man instead of another woman.  But, when women do decide to run – they win.  Research from Jennifer Lawless, a political scientist at Brown University, shows that women are just as likely to win an electoral race as men.

That’s why projects like She Should Run are more important now than ever before.  Women simply cannot afford to hit a plateau of holding just 25% of all elected offices in the United States. 

You can help us close the gender gap in politics by nominating a woman you know to run for office.  Whether she should run for the school board, mayor, or Congress – Women’s Campaign Forum is looking to encourage pro-choice women from all walks of life to start their careers in politics. 

Don’t let 2008 be the year women lose ground.  Make a nomination today.