Women are Important in Our Democracy
The diversity of women's life experiences allow them to create diverse perspectives with many of the issues with which we deal with today. Diversity in representation creates a stronger county because we hear and represent myriad views.
Issues which concern women are usually not even discussed by our political leaders.
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Paid Maternity Leave
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Women's Health Care
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Affordable Daycare
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Job Flexibility (needed for child care and elder care)
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Gender Pay Gap
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Violence Against Women and Girls
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Gender Discrimination
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Lack of Women as Leaders
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Economic Inequality
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Increasing Rate of Maternal Mortality (especially for black women)
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has conducted research for 35 years in over 100 countries around the world concerning the legislative affect women have in government. *
Women’s participation in politics helps advance gender equality and affects both the range of policy issues that get considered and the types of solutions that are proposed. Research indicates that whether a legislator is male or female has a distinct impact on their policy priorities. There is also strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is a corollary increase in policy making that emphasizes quality of life and reflects the priorities of families, women, and ethnic and racial minorities.
The NDI has found that, more than men, women tend to:
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Work across party/ethnic lines
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Highly responsive to constituent concerns
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Help secure lasting peace
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Encourage citizen confidence in democracy through their own participation
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Prioritize health, education, and other key development indicators
