Navigating the Challenges of Women in Politics with She Should Run Founder Erin Loos Cutraro

In our latest episode, we interview Erin Loos Cutraro, the founder and CEO of She Should Run, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging women to run for office - it’s so needed! Did you know that women still hold less than 30% of all elected offices across the federal, state, and local level, and the numbers are even lower when looking at women from underrepresented communities? Black women comprise less than 6% of officeholders in Congress, statewide elective executive offices, and state legislatures; only 7.9% of all women state legislators identify as Latina; and, roughly 0.23 percent of U.S elected officials identify as LGBTQIA+. Women are still less likely than men to have thought about running for office or to express interest in running for office in the future. Women are less likely to have opted into leadership roles from a young age. In fact, few of us– less than 2%– grow up with the dream to run for office one day. There’s lots of work to do!

Before the interview, we chat about the movie American Fiction and how the Black American experience is portrayed in media. 

[00:02:22] Felicia and Rachel discuss the movie American Fiction.

[00:10:50] Interview with Erin.

[00:11:15] Origin story and childhood upbringing.

[00:18:34] Challenges for women candidates.

[00:22:42] Running for office aspirations.

[00:23:46] Women in political roles.

[00:29:35] Nonpartisan space and misconceptions.

[00:33:13] Running for public office journey.

[00:36:17] Women's surge after 2016 election.

[00:41:17] A different political climate.

[00:45:35] Overcoming political exhaustion and paralysis.

[00:49:12] Finding women who aren't looking.

[00:53:12] The importance of diverse opinions.

[00:57:28] Future goals and hopes.

[01:00:49] The opportunity in Gen Z.

 

Links mentioned:

• https://sheshouldrun.org
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinlooscutraro

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