CAWP in the News

This review essay focuses on the intersection of gender and race in statewide executive officeholding. The author argues that scholarly neglect of this topic risks naturalizing the dearth of women of color in statewide executive positions, sending the message that it is understandable that women lack access to those offices and/or that such offices aren’t realistically obtainable. Using data from the Center for American Women and Politics, the author examines the status of women of color in statewide offices and state and party patterns in their presence as candidates and officeholders. Directions for future research are suggested. 

The increasing racial diversity of women in the United States makes the underrepresentation of women of color in politics an important area for research. To better understand the reasons for the underrepresentation of women of color and how more women of color might be elected in the future, this article presents a case study of a unique campaign training program designed for women of color. The program is the Center for American Women and Politics’ (CAWP) New Jersey Ready to Run® Diversity Initiative. Campaign trainings have proliferated in recent years and seem to play a disproportionate role in women’s election to office. By examining

The project specifically addresses African American, Latina/o, Native American, and Asian American elected officials in U.S. politics. The principal investigators are: Christine Marie Sierra, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of New Mexico; Carol Hardy-Fanta, Director, Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts-Boston; Pei-te Lien, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California at Santa Barbara; and Dianne M. Pinderhughes, Professor, Department of Political Science and Department of Africana Studies, University of Notre Dame.

This report is an overview of the proceedings and outcomes of The White House Conference on Girls’ Leadership and Civic Education, convened by the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Center for American Women and Politics. The conference explored the roots of the signifi cant gender gap in public leadership and sought concrete, immediate ways to change how we educate, entertain and engage young people in order to expand the image of who can and does lead.

Voting percentages and attitudes of young men and women from 1974 through 2012.

From the presidential level down, men and women who run for political office confront different electoral realities. In her probing study, Navigating Gendered Terrain, Kelly Dittmar investigates how gender influences the campaign strategy and behavior of candidates today. Concurrently, she shows how candidates' strategic and tactical decisions can influence the gendered nature of campaign institutions.