Democracy Matters - Episode 56: How Can Women Realize Their Full Political Potential?

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, there is a record number of women serving in the 117th Congress. 27% of members in the House are women and 24% of members in the Senate are women. This is a 50% increase from the 96 women serving in the 112th Congress a decade ago. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kira Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, about breaking barriers to women’s representation in policy and decisionmaking processes, and the impact of women realizing their full political potential. We also discuss the issues and factors that shape candidate emergence and women’s political participation.

Links in this episode:

• “The Money Hurdle in the Race for Governor”
• A Seat at the Table:  Congresswomen's Perspectives on Why Their Presence Matters
• More Women Can Run: Gender and Pathways to the State Legislatures
• Where Women Run: Gender and Party in the American States
• Democrats, Republicans, and the Politics of Women's Place
• Black Women in American Politics 2019
• Who Runs? The Masculine Advantage in Candidate Emergence