March 29, 2023

The application deadline for our 2023 Susan N. Wilson NEW Leadership® New Jersey program is fast approaching! New Jersey college students interested in women’s leadership should apply by Monday, April 3rd! NEW Leadership® is our program devoted to helping young people deepen their political engagement and join the fight to advance women’s leadership. This non-partisan, six-day residential program will give students the opportunity to meet women leaders, learn about women’s participation in American politics, and develop and practice leadership skills through panel discussions, workshops, and projects. Students get to spend a day in the State House in Trenton, where they meet with elected leaders and observe the legislative process in action, as seen in the photo here.

Are you a New Jersey college student ready to explore your connection to politics, policy, and the fight for change? Is there a college student in your life eager to engage their public leadership potential?

Want to invest in the future of women’s leadership? Find out how you can support NEW Leadership® here.

Last Sunday, CAWP Director Debbie Walsh received a 2023 Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award from Senator Bob Menendez at the 12th Annual Evangelina Menendez Women’s History Month Celebration, which Senator Menendez created to honor his own mother. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker for the event, which also included music and dance performances and speeches from other New Jersey politicians, including Representative Mikie Sherrill, who said “One of the honorees here today, Debbie Walsh, has worked to help women in politics understand how to navigate what has traditionally been a man’s world. In fact, she was one of the very first people I spoke to when I decided to run for Congress.”

In introducing Walsh, Senator Menendez said, “earlier today, we heard from the first female presidential nominee in American history. It’s thanks to Debbie’s work that I know one day, the highest, hardest glass ceiling will shatter at our feet.” In her own remarks, Walsh told the crowd, “My commitment to changing the face of power in our country comes from my commitment to making sure my daughters and all of our daughters have every door open to them.”

In a powerful speech about attacks on women’s human rights, Secretary Clinton reminded attendees that “this fight for women’s rights is not a separate, small matter. It is a fight for what kind of country and world we want for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. We have to do everything in our power to make sure our daughters and granddaughters won’t live in an America that sees them as second-class citizens.”

Watch full video of the event on Senator Menendez’s YouTube page.

We held our annual campaign training program for women in New Jersey in person for the first time since 2019, and the event was an overwhelming success. Attendees learned from established leaders about the unique challenges and opportunities for Asian American women, Black women, and Latinas at our Diversity Initiative sessions. Our track one participants, those preparing to run for office now, focused on key strategies for navigating New Jersey political parties and launching campaigns, while our track two attendees heard about legislative advocacy and ways to deepen political engagement in New Jersey. Plenary sessions gave all participants important tools for digital strategy, campaign communications, and fundraising. Want to learn more about our Ready to Run® campaign training or find out if there’s a partner program near you? Check out our Ready to Run® page.

CAWP Director of Research Kelly Dittmar has a new piece in Forbes about how women fare on the path to parity within the Democratic and Republican parties. Based on freshly-compiled data looking at women’s share of seats within party caucuses in state legislatures, the piece notes that women are 41% of Democratic and 15.4% of Republican members of Congress, but those disparities persist in state legislatures around the country: “while women are 32.7% of all state legislators, they are 48% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans. In fact, Democratic women are at or above parity with Democratic men in 26 state legislatures... Republican women fall short of parity with Republican men in all states, holding one-third or less of Republican seats in 47 state legislatures.” Read the full piece on the Forbes website.

A new poll from the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and their partners at the Women & Politics Institute at American University and Benenson Strategy Group gauges women’s attitudes ahead of the 2024 election. The survey findings show greater senses of dread and worry among women, while burnout remains prevalent, particularly among Black women and moms of young children. Women are feeling more engaged with politics and are highly concerned about the Supreme Court ruling in the Dobbs case, which stripped away women’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Meanwhile, women are concerned about political extremism of all sorts. Read the full report here.

TODAY, March 29th at 6pm ET, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation will host a virtual panel discussion about the new polling data, featuring Amanda Hunter (BLFF), Lindsay Vermeyen (Benenson Strategy Group), Mabinty Quarshie (USA Today), with Betsy Fischer Martin (American University) moderating. Register to attend here. 

Rutgers Law School, with help from KSBranigan Law P.C., is conducting focus groups to determine why women, despite their growing numbers in the legal profession, still lag men in reaching upper level leadership positions, in compensation, and in career satisfaction. The project also aims to use the findings of the study to provide a roadmap for solutions. They are seeking focus group participants in the legal profession who are or were in private practice, in-house roles, government, public interest, academia, and the judiciary. Focus group sessions will take place virtually in March and April, with second-round groups in September and October. Learn more here.