RepresentWomen
Parity for Women in Politics
Learn how to support this organization
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
American democracy is founded on the premise that government should be of, by, and for the people yet women in America remain underrepresented at all levels of legislative and judicial office. A thriving democracy is within our reach but current strategies that focus on preparing individual for office are not electing enough women - fast enough - because they do not address the structural barriers women face as candidates and as elected officials. More research, education, innovation, and collaboration is needed to advance institutional reforms that hold the promise of realizing the promise of American democracy.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Gender Parity Index
The Gender Parity Index scores women's representation at the local, state legislative, state-wide executive, and federal levels and assigns each state a grade based on its performance.
Ranked Choice Voting Research & Advocacy
RepresentWomen tracks outcomes for women & men of color in jurisdictions with ranked choice voting to understand the impact of RCV. This research grounds our work with partners in the women's representation ecosystem to build women's power through electoral reform and with organizations in the democracy reform movement to engage more women in legislative & ballot measure efforts to adopt RCV.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Brewer Fellowship 2020
21 Women Leaders for 2021 2021
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Academics, Activists, Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
RepresentWomen shares analysis & digital/print materials regularly w/ our ever-growing Gender Parity Listserv, weekly blog, engaged volunteers, partners & allies, 'gatekeepers' , & elected officials
Number of groups brought together in a coalition/alliance/partnership
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Academics, Activists, Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
RepresentWomen engages in partnerships w/ a wide-range of experts & advocates through formal & informal structures to hone strategies, build capacity, & strengthen the movement for women's rep.
Number of meetings with policymakers or candidates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Academics, Activists, Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
RepresentWomen meets with policymakers & candidates in different settings & via different mediums to educate & advocate about best practices to advance women's representation & leadership.
Number of policy guidelines or proposals developed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Academics, Activists, Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
RepresentWomen researches & investigates best practices in the public & private sector (in the US & internationally) that enable women to run, win, serve, & lead in legislative & judicial offices.
Number of stakeholders/stakeholder groups with whom communication has been achieved and expectations shared
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Academics, Activists, Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
RepresentWomen prioritizes making new connections w/ stakeholders from across the ideological spectrum to learn & share information about best practices to advance women's representation & leadership
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
RepresentWomen is working to advance women's representation and leadership in elected and appointed legislative and judicial positions. Data-driven structural strategies - used in the 82 nations that rank above the US in women's representation and in a growing number of US jurisdictions - are needed to address the structural barriers women face as candidates and elected officials. RepresentWomen is a hub for research, education, communications, and advocacy about innovative rules and systems strategies to win gender parity for all women - in our lifetimes.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
RepresentWomen is working to track women's representation across governmental and judicial positions to 1) create a baseline from which progress toward parity can be measured, and 2) learn best practices about the rules, systems, and norms that are advancing women's representation and leadership. We educate allies, practitioners, and elected officials about these best practices with face to face interactions, through writing and reports, and via our growing digital network. RepresentWomen works directly with political parties, PACs, donors, and municipalities to design new systems and rules to advance women's representation. RepresentWomen collaborates with many allies on specific projects and partnerships because we recognize that we will only make serious progress toward parity if we pool resources, innovate, and work together.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
RepresentWomen's is well positioned to carry out our mission because of our relationship with the non-partisan electoral reform organization FairVote that has supported RepresentWomen as a fiscal sponsor. RepresentWomen became fiscally independent on September 1, 2018 but relies on FairVote for office space, administrative support, communications expertise, research advice, and coordinated outreach strategies that enable our small staff to work effectively toward our goal of parity.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
RepresentWomen has conducted research on women's representation in sectors that have not been tracked before (US territories, tribal, and judicial positions) and developed a data base of international women's representation that includes the type of electoral system & quota used in every country in the world. RepresentWomen created the Gender Parity Index that measures women's representation in each state at the local, state legislative, statewide executive, and federal level and gives each state a grade based on their performance. RepresentWomen staff have written dozens of OpEds, appeared on a number of radio & television programs including CSPAN, and participated in numerous panels, webinars, and conferences. RepresentWomen also hosts an active Gender Parity Listserv that provides a forum for communication among thought leaders about the best practices to advance women's representation. And perhaps most importantly, RepresentWomen works in partnership with allies to win parity.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
RepresentWomen
Board of directorsas of 10/19/2023
Vandinika Shukla
Onida Coward-Mayers
Rina Shah
Michelle Whittaker
Jodi Rubenstein
Susannah Wellford
Dania Korkor
Amber McReynolds
Lindsey Drath
Vandinika Shukla
Onida Coward Mayers
Mehrnaz Teymourian
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/18/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.