July 5, 2017
NEWS & NOTES
A newsletter to keep you informed about all things women and politics from the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University.
More Evidence that Representation Matters
CAWP's latest research report, Representation Matters:  Women in the U.S. Congress , is drawing national attention. The Washington Post , in an analysis by Amber Phillips, places President Trump's comments about MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski in the context of "an already very tough political environment for women" as detailed in the CAWP study. CAWP scholar Kelly Dittmar, in Medium , uses the softball game that pits a bipartisan team of congresswomen against women from the media as an illustration of how women on Capitol Hill collaborate to get things done. And Dittmar, along with CAWP senior scholars Kira Sanbonmatsu and Susan J. Carroll, reminds us on the Ms. blog  that if you "Want Something Done? Elect a Woman."
  
Meanwhile, another woman has joined the congressional team: Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA) was sworn in on June 26. Handel is not, as some reported, the first woman to represent Georgia in Congress, but she is the first Republican woman to do so, as The New York Times reported, citing CAWP data. Want to learn more about where women have ---  and have not ---  served? Take a look at our state-by-state map for details on women, present and past, at the federal and state levels.
Partners Get Women Ready to Run®--- and to Get Appointed!

 

Top: Ready to Run® California:  Mount Saint Mary University Associate Professor Jackie Filla engaged Los Angeles County Supervisors Sheila James Kuehl and Kathryn Barger in a candid conversation at Ready to Run® California; Former Congresswoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was the opening keynote.     

Middle: Western Illinois University turned out a crowd of potential politicos for its Ready to Run® program. 

Bottom: (L) Participants in Ready to Run® at Ohio State University practiced their networking skills.

(R) At Ready to Run® Iowa, a panel on "District Contact with Voters" included (from left) Susie Weinacht, Cedar Rapid City Council member; Karyn Finn, president of the Hudson Community School District Board; and Rep. Lisa Heddens of Iowa's 46th District.

 
Partners in our Ready to Run® National Network are welcoming more participants than ever to their training programs, teaching them essential skills and introducing them to the systems and networks they need to know about in order to engage in winning campaigns, whether for themselves or for other candidates. And in California, one participant met Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s appointment secretary at
Mount Saint Mary's Ready to Run®  program---  and turned that connection into a gubernatorial appointment!
Looking for a Ready to Run® program near you? Check out our map of partner programs and list of upcoming events.  Don't see one in your state? Find out how to launch a partner program.

Need some inspiration? As syndicated columnist Connie Schultz puts it, "If our success is our only legacy, it dies with us. If, on the other hand, we channel some of our ambition into the future of others, the best parts of us will never die." Read her full commentary, "Run, Woman, Run"
here .
How Hillary Clinton Succeeded  
CAWP scholar Kelly Dittmar talked with Rutgers Today about the conclusion of Presidential Gender Watch, CAWP's collaboration with the Barbara Lee Family Foundation to monitor gender in the 2016 presidential election. Dittmar explains how Clinton's campaign helped to expose and challenge gender norms, perhaps paving the way for other women to run. "That is where I think her particular contribution is notable,'' Dittmar said. "Her willingness to talk about the asset, or added value, of being a woman to being president is new. She pushed boundaries when and where she could in a way that will help women running in the future.'' The full Presidential Gender Watch report is available here.  
Women's voices change the agenda! Help us point more women toward political participation---  m ake a contribution to CAWP today!  Thank you.    
 
Women Leaders of Today
New Jersey is one of just two states electing new governors this year. New Jersey's Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is running as a moderate Republican, which The New York Times  calls "a rare species" in the current climate.
 
In Iowa, Kim Reynolds is just settling into her new job as governor, reports Politico Magazine , looking at her rise to power and her prospects for election to a full term.
 
CNN is featuring "Badass Women of Washington." Recent editions have highlighted Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel  and Senator Jeanne Shaheen  (D-NH).
 
In another of its weekly profiles of political women, Elle  introduces California Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, who first came to the U.S. without documentation but overcame numerous barriers and has now served in three different elected offices.
 
Another naturalized citizen, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the first Indian-American woman in Congress, found her voice quickly and is speaking out on behalf of immigrants, according to Mother Jones .
 
Speaking out against online abuse, particularly of women and girls, is Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA), as reported by Cosmopolitan .
 
Women Leaders of Yesterday
Looking back, Lilylines , a new feature of The Washington Post, marked Independence Day by highlighting a few U.S. founding mothers.
 
Women Leaders of Tomorrow
While celebrating the newest women of color to enter Congress, a political action committee dedicated to electing women of color, Raising Our Sisters' Assets (ROSA PAC), looked toward electing even more women of color, according to Essence.
 
Looking ahead, NPR visited a "politics camp for girls," the Young Women's Political Leadership Program offered by Running Start.
 
Demonizing Women
The New York Times  cites advertising used in the Georgia special congressional election as the latest illustration of its contention that women who acquire power-from Nancy Pelosi to Sarah Palin-have too often become "lightning rods for derision and contempt, expressed in ways that compound lingering stereotypes, whether or not we want to acknowledge them." And The Washington Post  offers examples of how President Trump has used gender-based insults to undercut women---  along with some men. That observation is echoed in the San Francisco Chronicle  and on WHYY's Radio Times  in a conversation with CAWP scholar Kelly Dittmar (starting at 32:00).
 
Council on Women and Girls: Future Uncertain
ABC News  says the White House is deciding on the future of the Council on Women and Girls, created by President Obama to "ensure that agencies across government 'take into account the needs of women and girls in the policies they draft, the programs they create, [and] the legislation they support.'" 
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