Gender Equity
While women make up 51 percent of the population in North Carolina, they are severely underrepresented in elected office. North Carolina was given a grade “D” for participation of women in politics and government by the NC Department of Administration’s Council for Women and Youth Involvement.
Furthermore, 31 of the 100 counties in the state are represented by only men at the county commission level. And North Carolina ranks in the bottom third of states for number of women in the state legislature.
Thanks to women being underrepresented in political office, male policymakers in North Carolina have been blocking legislation designed to improve gender equity for decades. Every year, legislation aiming to raise the minimum wage, enact paid sick and parental leave, create more affordable and accessible child and senior care, close the gender wage gap, support maternal health, end the pink tax, and more, get stymied.
Electing more progressive women who are champions of gender equity will result in better workplaces, communities, and lives for all North Carolinians.