She Should Run works to increase the number of women considering a run for public office

Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This January, She Should Run is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will help She Should Run in its mission to build a community of women who are curious about the possibilities of public leadership.

Read this important blog post about She Should Run’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to She Should Run to support its efforts — and the efforts of our other outstanding January grantees.

In November, we released  The State of Women: 2023 Multiplier Report and Roadmap, a comprehensive guide drawing on insights from extensive data gathered from a wide-ranging network of women nationwide. Utilizing data collected from She Should Run participants and research conducted between 2020 and 2023, we found that most women — across demographics and ideologies — need multiple points and types of encouragement over several years in order to consider running for office.

“The women running today did not wake up yesterday or even last year and decide they were going to run for office,” said She Should Run founder and CEO Erin Loos Cutraro. “2018’s ‘Year of the Woman’ was an anomaly. We haven’t seen that type of momentum for women’s representation since. In order to see more women running in the next election and beyond, we need to engage in the long-game work of planting seeds to inspire women now, to push them to consider putting themselves on the ballot in the future.”

Most of the women who are on the ballot in 2024 were inspired to run for office years ago. To see more women running in the future, our report calls on the U.S. to ditch traditional recruitment models and gatekeeper rhetoric that dictate only wealthy people, political insiders and those who have been planning a run since 1st grade have what it takes to lead.

The State of Women: 2023 Multiplier Report and Roadmap outlines the critical need to meet women where they really are, in communities and workplaces across our nation, and the four steps we must take to see more women running in future elections:

• Make it obvious and commonplace: Persistently deliver our message to women with vast leadership potential who are overlooked in traditional political recruitment.
• Make it easy and approachable: Dismantle perceptions around what it takes to become an elected official by offering honest resources and simple steps that allow a woman to dip her toe in the water.
• Make it relatable and compelling: Provide a wide range of resources that adapt to the interests and needs of women, focusing on their leadership development rather than candidate training.
• Make it inspiring and infectious: Mobilize passionate leaders to multiply the number of women considering elected office through honest, open connections.

You can download the Multiplier Roadmap here. You can learn more about She Should Run’s vital work at SheShouldRun.org.