January 5, 2016
NEWS & NOTES
A newsletter to keep you informed about all things women and politics from the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University.

Swear in the new
Happy New Year!  When all newly elected state legislators are sworn in, CAWP data show that women will hold a record 1831 seats, or 24.8% of all seats, an increase of 28 women from the final 2015 total of 1814. As a reminder: women are 50.8% of the US population, so the fact that women now hold almost a quarter of state legislative seats may be an improvement, but certainly not cause for champagne and fireworks.
You can run too!
Ready to Run Campaign Training for Women
Want to see those numbers of women officeholders do more
than edge upward? That requires more women to run - perhaps including you? Find out what it's all about by attending Ready to RunĀ® NJ on March 18-19, 2016. Get the details today and sign up for the early-bird registration rate. Not in NJ? There may be a Ready to RunĀ® for you, too - check the list of our partner programs around the country. Or find lots more ways to get involved in all 50 states on our Political & Leadership Resource Map.
  
Invest in the nation's premier resource for all things women and politics; you can  show your support with a tax deductible gift of $45 (or $450 or $4500) for CAWP's 45th anniversary. Thank you!  
 
President Wu
Boston's City Council unanimously chose Michelle Wu as its president, making her the third woman and first Asian American to hold that post, as reported by The Boston Herald.
  
Horrifyingly true
In Mexico, a woman was shot and killed on her first day as her city's mayor, seemingly a victim of ongoing drug warfare, according to The World Post.
  
Perhaps you knew...
About all the intriguing developments in politics and gender for 2015. If not, Janell Ross of The Washington Post offers her double list in parts one and two.
  
Booooo!
Jessica Valenti, in The Guardian, asks why political women are still subject to gender-specific political slurs.
  
Support for Clinton: Young women too
The Washington Post suggests that any gap among Democratic primary voters is more about gender than about generations.
  
Women in the states: Too few
Reports from both Minnesota and Ohio indicate that there are consequences when women's voices are less audible in state legislatures.  
  
Center for American Women and Politics
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
191 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8557
(848) 932-9384 - Fax: (732) 932-6778