Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

Record number of women hold state legislative leadership posts

Jared Gans and Jonnette Oakes, The Hill

According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a record-breaking number of women around the country are serving in leadership roles in state legislatures. There are now eighty-seven women nationwide in leadership posts, compared to seventy-two in 2019 with states like Nevada, California, Maryland and Vermont in the lead. Six legislative chambers are now majority women: the Colorado House, the New Mexico House, the Rhode Island Senate and the Nevada House and Senate.

You can read the full article here.

Boston’s Black women activists walk a historic path —and look toward the future

Dasia Moore, Boston Globe

Black women in Boston have a long history of political activism that often goes unnoticed. From Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved woman who sued for her freedom and won in 1781 to Melnea Cass, who was the president of the NAACP in Boston during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s – the legacy of Black women activists in this city has changed its history. After generations of struggle, Boston is expected to have its first Black woman Mayor when City Council President Kim Janey assumes the Mayor position after Marty Walsh is sworn in as Secretary of Labor.

You can read the full article here.

GOP consultant calls Haley the party’s 2024 front-runner

Zack Budryk, The Hill

Alex Castellanos, a GOP consultant, said in an interview that Nikki Haley has the best shot at winning the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The former Ambassador to the UN drew attention when she denounced Trump last week due to his involvement in the Capitol riot. “I think Nikki Haley is the front-runner and it’s going to be very hard to stop her,” said Castellanos. “I think she’s underestimated.”

You can read the full article here.

Biden’s Cabinet: Incremental Growth Is Not Equal Representation

Glynda Carr, Madelene Mielke & Tiffany Gardner, Ms. Magazine

Although we have made major strides in gender representation by electing a woman vice president and having a record number of women serving as elected officials, it’s important to remember that there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to equal representation in positions of political leadership. We have only had two Black women serve in the U.S. Senate, Carol Moseley Braun and Kamala Harris. As a result of Harris being sworn in as Vice President, there are now no Black woman in the U.S. Senate. The US political system must make a conscious effort to not exclude Black women from leadership roles and acknowledge their contributions to civic leadership and political organizing.

You can read the full article here.

Powered by recent wins, Democrats intensify push for diversity ahead of 2022

Kendall Karson, ABC News

After losing last year’s Senate race, Erica Smith, a Democrat from North Carolina has said that the Democratic Party must change its view on who can win elections. The former state senator, who is Black, expressed concern over the Democratic Party using Black women as a powerful voting bloc but not allowing them to be the face of leadership. “We have to stop looking for this cookie-cutter version of a candidate for U.S. Senate in the South, who is a white male with military experience and not necessarily other lived experiences,” said Smith.

You can read the full article here.

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