• Home
  • Independent Voter News
  • Quizzes
  • Election Dissection
  • Sections
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us
  • Glossary
  • Opinion
  • Campaign Finance
  • Redistricting
  • Civic Ed
  • Voting
  • Fact Check
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Big Picture>
  3. women>

Presidential years are a time for the parties to promote gender equity

Claire Halffield
September 15, 2020
Missouri delegation at 2020 Republican National Convention

The Missouri delegation poses for a photo at the 2020 Republican National Convention. The GOP requires state parties to try to reach gender equity; the Democrats demand gender balance.

Pool/Getty Images
Halffield is a second-year law student at Ohio State University and has been a legal research intern at RepresentWomen, which advocates for political reforms it believes would result in more women holding elective office.

Before our memories of this year's unusual Democratic and Republican national conventions fade from view, it's important to remember one thing we saw that was not so different: Women remain underrepresented at all levels of the political process, including party leadership.

For years, the Democrats and the GOP have tried to remedy this issue. This year, the rules of both parties required equal division in each delegation to increase the percentage of women at the convention — although that was tough to see this summer. Unlike in the past there were no televised pictures of thousands of delegates packed on the floors of the two conventions, because thanks to the coronavirus pandemic neither gathering was held in an arena.

The Democratic National Committee requires all state delegations to be equally divided between men and women. Conversely, the Republican National Committee only mandates that state parties endeavor to have equal representation. It may seem at first read that these rules are similar enough to avoid concern; unfortunately, a small difference in the rules has profound impacts on the official delegations.

A new report on party rules and gender parity from RepresentWomen explores in depth the rules that are used at state and national party levels, and the research accompanying this brief makes it possible to see the effects of these rules in how many delegates each state actually sent. Based on the data about female representation at both 2016 conventions, a mandate works much more effectively than a requirement for an attempt at equal representation. While 47 states sent delegations to the Democratic gathering in Philadelphia composed of at least 40 percent women, only 15 states sent delegations to the Republcian convention in Cleveland with the same makeup.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The sentiments of each national party are also reflected in each state party's committee makeup. While Democratic state parties have rules to encourage equal representation at state party meetings, only 16 Republican state parties do that much. Many state parties that encourage equal representation do so by requiring each precinct to send an equal number of male and female representatives to state meetings.

Opponents of the equal division rule have argued that such regulations restrict voters' right to choose who represents them at party meetings and infringes upon the voting rights given through the Constitution. However, the First Amendment gives the political parties significant leeway on that score. Rulings in such cases as Bachur v. Democratic Party and Cousins v. Wigoda have found that political parties have a right to shape their delegates based on gender parity so long as their methods support some rational interest of their party.

And for good reason. Research shows recruitment for office is an important factor for increasing the number of women who run and that recruitment is most effective when conducted by elected officials and party leaders. When fewer women attend state and national party conventions, they may miss out on chances to meet leaders with influence on candidate selection — as well as future recruitment opportunities and connections needed for running successful campaigns.

While we can't constitutionally require that more spaces in public office are preserved for women in office, we can provide more opportunities for women to run and get involved in the political process. Gender balance rules in political parties promises opportunities (not outcomes) for women to learn from and be recruited by party leaders.

From Your Site Articles
  • Suffrage. Race. Power. A Candid Talk About Race and Gender in ... ›
  • Why multi-member districts with fair voting rules would be a boon to ... ›
  • Women's representation and the democracy reform movement - The ... ›
  • Want different politics? Pay attention to women like these. - Debilyn ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • The future is female: How the growing political power of women will ... ›
  • Inequality - Women in politics - OECD Data ›
  • Milestones for Women in American Politics | CAWP ›
  • How Americans View Women Leaders in Politics and Business ... ›
women
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

But what can I do?

Pedro Silva

Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

Paige Chan

Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

David Thornburgh
John Opdycke

The U.S. has been seeking the center since the days of Teddy Roosevelt

Dave Anderson

Imperfection and perseverance

Jeff Clements

We’ve expanded the Supreme Court before. It’s time to do so again.

Anushka Sarkar
latest News

Podcast: 100% Democracy

Our Staff
2h

Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

David Meyers
21h

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Our Staff
25 May

Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

David Meyers
24 May

Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

Our Staff
24 May

The state of voting: May 23, 2022

Our Staff
23 May
Videos

Video: Helping loved ones divided by politics

Our Staff

Video: What happened in Virginia?

Our Staff

Video: Infrastructure past, present, and future

Our Staff

Video: Beyond the headlines SCOTUS 2021 - 2022

Our Staff

Video: Should we even have a debt limit

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirstFriday Yap Politics

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Did economists move the Democrats to the right?

Our Staff
02 May

Podcast: The future of depolarization

Our Staff
11 February

Podcast: Sore losers are bad for democracy

Our Staff
20 January

Deconstructed Podcast from IVN

Our Staff
08 November 2021
Recommended
Podcast: 100% Democracy

Podcast: 100% Democracy

Leadership
people talking

But what can I do?

Leveraging big ideas
Shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas

Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

Congress
Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Big Picture
First-ever majority-female New York city council

Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

Campaign Finance
Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

Voting