A record number of Black women are running for Congress this year. At least 122…
Media Round-Up: Week of May 8th
Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
Women on the ballot: Emerge Maryland sees jump in candidates this year
Elizabeth Shwe, WTOP News
Emerge Maryland, a training program for Democratic women, has seen an increase in the number of candidates on the 2022 ballot. In 2018, 46 women graduated from Emerge Maryland and during this election cycle, 63 graduates of the program are running for federal, state and local offices. Additionally, women’s representation in Maryland’s General Assembly has grown by double-digits since 2020. Maryland ranks fifth in the nation for its proportion of women lawmakers.
Read the full story here.
Senate approves Lisa Cook as first Black woman on Federal Reserve board of governors
Associated Press, NPR
On Tuesday, the Senate approved economist Lisa Cook to serve on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, making her the first Black woman to hold the position. Cook’s background includes: having a doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley; serving as a staff economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2012, and as an adviser on the Fed and bank regulatory policy to President Biden’s transition team. Cook is the second of President Biden’s five nominees for the Federal Reserve to win a Senate confirmation.
Read the full story here.
Failure To Advance Women’s Health Protection Act Puts Spotlight On Absence Of Black Women Senators
Anoa Changa, News One
This week the Senate did not advance the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021, an act that would codify abortion.. The act would also prevent several restrictions to abortion including: “… mandating unnecessary tests or procedures in connection with abortion services, providers giving patients inaccurate or false information about abortion and one or more medically unnecessary in-person visits.” Experts have noted that while some Democrats have spoken out about how restrictions to abortion will heavily impact Black women and women of color, there are no Black women in the Senate to speak out about an issue directly affecting them.
Read the full story here.
Female mayors, mayors of color report higher rates of political violence, study finds
Rebecca Klar, The Hill
According to a study released this past week, women and women of color mayors reported higher rates of harassment both online and in person compared to their male and non-white counterparts. The study found that while women and women of color mayors experience frequent harassment, the types of harassment differ among different demographic groups. The research was conducted by academics at Oklahoma State University and funded by the Center for American Women in Politics.
Read the full story here.