Half of All Candidates Running for Office Should Be Women

July 25, 2017

SHE SHOULD RUN launches 250Kby2030 to ensure that 50% of candidates for the 500,000 elected offices in the U.S.  are women by 2030

WASHINGTON, DC (July 18) –  The United States has over 500,000 elected positions and less than 25 percent of those offices are currently held by women. Today, She Should Run unveiled a bold, long-term effort to increase the number of women on the ballot to reach 50 percent by 2030.

250Kby2030 will marshal the experience of elected officials, past and present, the growing and energetic community of committed future elected leaders, and critical information and resources needed to run for office to take the over 15,000 women in the She Should Run community, grow that number to 250,000, and move them from step one to the ballot.

“Since the 2016 election, thousands of women from all walks of life have raised their hands to run for office; She Should Run alone has had over 15,000 women come forward. Now we need to take the next step to transform that number into the over 250,000 women candidates needed to have women’s voices fully represented on ballots across the country,” said Erin Loos Cutraro, founder and CEO of She Should Run. “250Kby2030gives us a long-term goal with tangible steps that will result in concrete results in 2018 but also each and every election thereafter. As leaders working to strengthen our democracy, it is our duty to provide the pathway for women today and tomorrow who are stepping up to serve their communities.”

The 250Kby2030 campaign will be driven through three key areas:

  • Leadership: She Should Run is calling on veterans of the campaign trail to join a mentorship program that will pair aspiring candidates with experienced current and previous office-holders and candidates. Learning what to expect as a candidate is one of the most important pieces of information aspiring candidates need.

  • Community: the She Should Run community has brilliant and energetic women from every corner of this country. The 250Kby2030 will call on the most active, the most driven, to lead within the community. Helping aspiring candidates find resources through a new referral program and within the community, these women will provide a peer roadmap for future candidates running for all levels of office.

  • Resources: 250Kby2030 is adding to existing She Should Run resources with  approachable content, inspired by the She Should Run community, so aspiring candidates can take established approaches and fresh behind-the-scenes stories and immediately apply it to their own plans. The program will also create a technology platform that will connect women within the community by better targeting the content to their specific needs based on location, office and community.

“When women run for office, they will win at the same rate as men. Yet women are not even close to being represented on the ballot in equal numbers,” said Cutraro. “At current rates, it will take over 100 years to achieve equal representation. That is unacceptable and 250Kby2030 will change that.”

ABOUT SHE SHOULD RUN
Founded in 2011, She Should Run is a non-partisan 501(c)3 organization committed to inspiring more women to run for office.  She Should Run believes that women of all backgrounds should have an equal shot at elected leadership and that our country will benefit from having a government with varied perspectives and experiences. More information is available at www.sheshouldrun.org

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