The G7 Reminds Us: The U.S. Needs Systems Strategies to Improve Women's Representation
Last weekend, leaders from the G7 countries gathered in Cornwall for the 2021 Summit, covering topics from global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to the plan to combat climate change, and they even answered the question posed by Queen Elizabeth II, “are you supposed to be enjoying yourselves?”
Despite the importance of these topics and the undue impact the pandemic, ensuing recession, and climate change all have on women, only one woman leader was present, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Although the majority of G7 countries do not have a woman executive in 2021, most are outpacing the United States for women’s elected representation at the national level and not because they have more qualified or ambitious women running for office.
Women’s representation is advancing faster in five of the seven G7 countries because they have taken steps to address the structural barriers that women face when it comes to running for and winning elected office. France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada all rank above the United States for women’s representation in their Lower Houses and have all adopted gender quotas to increase the number of women in politics. Meanwhile, the United States and Japan have failed to adopt intentional measures like gender quotas, and women’s representation continues to lag.
While the U.S. continues to bicker over how to define infrastructure, other countries, including some of our closest allies, are implementing an electoral infrastructure needed to ensure more women run, win, serve, and lead in politics. Luckily for the U.S., the solutions are clear. Adopting intentional recruitment measures or even down-ballot gender quotas will improve women’s elected representation, and implementing a fair representation voting system will help to increase democratic competition, limit the advantage of incumbency, and move beyond the white, male status quo of American politics. The Fair Representation Act, recently introduced by Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), combines independent redistricting commissions with ranked choice voting in multi-seat districts and will yield 40% more women in Congress after its adoption.
As of January 2021, 84% (42 of 50) of the top 50 ranked countries for women’s representation use some form of gender quota at the national level, and 78% (39 of 50) have a mixed or proportional representation voting system. Both of these systemic actions correspond with higher rates of women’s political representation, an essential part of any healthy democracy.
Even with the steps taken by other G7 countries, with Merkel stepping down from her position later this year, the next summit of the Group of 7 could very well feature no women elected leaders. So, to answer Queen Elizabeth II’s question: no, we are not supposed to be enjoying ourselves while half of the global population continues to be underrepresented around political and economic decision-making tables.
Cynthia Richie Terrell is the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen and an outspoken advocate for rules & systems reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States. Terrell and her husband Rob Richie helped to found FairVote, a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a truly representative democracy.