Since 2014, the Reflective Democracy Campaign has asked the fundamental question: Who Leads Us? We’ve dug into the demographics of political power in America, and what we found made national headlines: White men hold four times as much political power as all other Americans. Voters want elected leaders who reflect the American people, but neither…
Call for Action: Open the Gates!
Public opinion research shows that a majority of Americans — across party lines — want to see leaders who represent the “best and the brightest,” but instead see an entrenched status quo that looks like an “old boy’s club.” They want to see officeholders who reflect the full range of talent and experience among the…
Voters choose women at same as men, but gatekeepers stand in the way
Research by Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless highlights an important truth: voter bias is not the reason women are 51% of the population but only 29% of elected officeholders. Our research reveals the same finding: When women appear on the ballot, voters choose them at the same rate they choose men. This is very good…
Structural issues require structural solutions
When the data you present makes people cry, you know it captures something important. The event was in Raleigh, NC, and the people were local activists, funders, and candidates and officeholders. The Reflective Democracy Campaign had convened the meeting together with Blueprint North Carolina; it was one of seven regional strategy sessions aimed at bringing…
BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS: Investing and supporting solutions to pave the way for Reflective Democracy
The Reflective Democracy Campaign has asked some important questions about the racial and gender disparities of our elected officials — Who Leads Us? and Who Runs in America? What we have found is an entrenched system in which two out of every three names on a ballot, and two out of every three elected offices,…
Access To Power Blocked At The Ballot Box: 90% Of Candidates Are White; Over 70% Are Male
As 2016 General Election Approaches, New Research Shows Bi-Partisan Diversity Crisis San Francisco, CA – October 22, 2015—New analysis by the Reflective Democracy Campaign of the Women Donors Network (WDN) shows that Americans can’t choose diversity at the ballot box: from the federal level down to county elections, just 10% of all candidates are people of…
New York Times: Study Documents the Paucity of Black Elected Prosecutors: Zero in Most States
Nicholas Fandos explores our 2014 Justice for All? findings on elected prosecutors.
Mic: You Can Probably Guess How White the U.S.’s Elected Prosecutors Are
Zak Cheney-Rice discusses the Reflective Democracy Campaign’s 2014 Justice for All? findings on Mic.
The Guardian: White men make up 79% of elected prosecutors in US, study says
Jamiles Lartey discusses our 2014 Justice for All? findings for the Guardian.
The Atlantic: Most States Elect No Black Prosecutors
David A. Graham discusses our 2014 findings on prosecutors in The Atlantic.
NPR: Report Highlights Lack Of Racial Diversity Among U.S. Prosecutors
Our 2014 research is discussed on All Things Considered.
NBC News: Study Reveals Severe Lack of Diversity in Elected Prosecutors
Emma Wilkinson discusses our key 2014 findings about elected prosecutors on NBC News.
