Women. Politics. Progress.
It’s not just California; the lack of women holding elected office is a national epidemic. Still, the statistics in the Golden State are as shocking as they are revealing. There is a tremendous gap between the number of men and women serving at the state level in California.
In 2003, California ranked 6th in the country for women serving in the state legislature. Today, California ranks 19th. The number of women serving in the State Assembly has dropped by 5%, while the number of women serving in the State Senate has not changed in ten years.
Women played a larger role in electoral politics in 2012 than ever. Yet, electing qualified women seems to be a tremendous obstacle, few women dare attempt to over come. It has been said that a woman will ask five people before she will make the decision to run. A man will ask one, himself.
Close the GAP CA believes good government is equal government. Women govern differently, are more collaborative and bring a distinct range of skills and approaches to politics. The Donahue Center at St. Mary’s College was to capacity on Saturday when I attended a Close the GAP CA event. During the half-day event, women were encouraged to run or could clearly identify the ways to support the woman they know willing to toss her name in the hat. Close the Gap CA believes everyone loses when one half of the talent remains on the sidelines.
Women must mobilize on multiple fronts. But they require people to do it.
NationBuilder makes managing and communicating with these people possible. During the smaller groups sessions, I took a moment of personal privilege to express my own passion for women running for office.
More importantly, I shared why it is just as important to have a good ground game and a better digital game. If we learned anything from the President it’s that your digital field is as important as you physical one. The internet amplifies the ability to reach the masses and influence constituents locally and online.
Through my work at NationBuilder, I am committed to keeping democracy democratic and engaging as many people as possible in our politics. I believe in the internet's remarkable capability to connect like-minded individuals, while activating them on behalf of a cause, campaign or idea. I love working for NationBuilder because by developing the world’s first community organizing system, we want to make sure not only can everyone, including women can get in the game, but that they’re equipped with the best technology when they get there.
