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 candidates are constantly asked about their electability. Here are 5 reasons that’s misguided.

By Li Zhou, Vox

The 2018 elections proved that when women run for office they can win. Yet, questions about women’s electability continues to plague the 2020 presidential women candidates. Some fear that after Hillary Clinton’s loss, America is just not ready for a woman president. But as Amanda Hunter from the Barbara Lee Family Foundation says, “When people say it shouldn’t be a woman this time because a woman lost last time, well, men have been losing the presidency for hundreds of years.”

You can read the full article here.

The Complex History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement

By Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times

2019 marks 100 years since the passing of the 19^th Amendment, which legally gave women the right to vote in America. This New York Times piece highlights three exhibits in Washington D.C. that showcase the complexities of the fight leading up to the ratification, and the many that followed after.

You can read the full article here.

Stop Asking if Women are Electable

By Amanda Renteria, Ms. Magazine

“Strategic Discrimination” is defined as “an individual’s inclination to discriminate against a candidate out of concern that others will object to them.” This phenomenon particularly disadvantages women and people of color running for office. Instead of highlighting their success, the media questions their electability, and as a result the public begins to question it as well.

You can read the full article here.

How to close the massive gender gap in Congress

By Li Zhou, Vox

If the United States continue to elect women at the current rate, it may be another 90 years before Congress reaches true gender parity. Li Zhou looks at different systems that could increase the number of women in Congress much faster. She says, “If both parties and the American public had the political will, it could happen in the next decade.”

You can read the full article here.

The Unlimited Greatness of Simone Biles

By Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker

Women athletes are often discouraged from celebrating their successes too much at the risk of coming off as “cocky” or “overly ambitious.” However, Simone Biles is the best, and she’s not afraid to show it. At the training podium for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, she stood decked out in leotard with a cartoon goat on the back before becoming the first female gymnast to perform the triple-double. Biles says, “I feel like every day in training I amaze myself even more, so we’ll have to see what’s to come.”

You can read the full article here.

 

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