A society that fails to harness the energy and creativity of its women is at a huge disadvantage and this is especially true in the modern world. With a few weeks to the midterm elections, many people are of the opinion that the status of women in politics needs to be reach a new balance. In a program published by the by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on October 16th, a panel of experts, activists and researchers discussed this critically important issue.

Some interesting developments that were cited in the program include the fact that there will be female candidates for Governor in the 2018 midterm, a record. Another statistic cited showed that: 23% of the senate, 19% of the House of Representatives, 24% statewide offices, 25% state legislative seats have never been held by women and America is still to have a female President. Just over half the states have had a female governor, meaning there are dozens of states that have never had a female governor.

Women in politics has always been topical and researchers have long tried to examine the views of Americans on women in leadership and identify the obstacles and biases toward female politicians. The statistics showing the dreadful lack of female political representation in American history is very important to the understanding of the country’s democracy.

During the Woodrow Wilson Center program, a panel was introduced by the Pew Research Center’s Juliana Horowitz and Ruth Igielnik. Horowitz is the Associate Director of Research at the Pew Research Center and Igielnik is a Senior Researcher. Gwen K. Young, Director of the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative and The Women in Public Service Project, then moderated the panel discussion. Panelists included:

Glynda Carr – Co-Founder, Higher Heights

Kim Parker – Director of Social Trends Research, Pew Research Center

Sabrina Schaeffe – Leadership Circle Chair, Independent Women’s Forum

Cynthia Terrell – Founder and Executive Director, Represent Women

The video lasts for about an hour. Take a look: