While women remain significantly underrepresented in government, there is at least one adjacent field in which they have achieved gender parity in leadership: the universe of democracy reform and bridge-building organizations.
In its 2021 Diversity Report, the Bridge Alliance found that half of the executives leading its 100 member organizations are women. (Disclosure: The Fulcrum is a program within the Bridge Alliance, which brings together organizations working toward a healthy democracy.)
To mark Women’s History Month, The Fulcrum is spotlighting just some of the women leading these organizations.
Lindsay Bressman
US President Jimmy Carter delivering his inaugural address at the US Capitol in Washington, January 20th 1977. Vice President Walter Mondale (1928 - 2021) is seated at right, former President Gerald Ford (1913 - 2006) at left. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Former President Jimmy Carter observes voting procedures in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1990.
Cynthia Johnson/Liaison
President Bush Meets with Nobel Laureates, including fomer president, Jimmy Carter
A Bubbly Creek kayaker is testing the waters. Maggie Cooper from the Shedd Aquarium says herons and turtles aren’t bothered by an increase in recreational activities on the South Branch of the Chicago River. Victoria Malis // 
If the MPDC’s vision of the South Branch Connectivity initiative comes to fruition, a continuous riverfront will span from Western Avenue in McKinley Park to Ping Tom Park in Chinatown. Map courtesy of MPDC
Urban Rivers and Shedd Aquarium installed multiple floating wetlands on Bubbly Creek, but a lack of boardwalks makes it hard to host recreational and educational programs along this river segment.Victoria Malis // The Fulcrum
