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:

Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB

Annie Linskey and Jeff Stein, The Washington Post

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made history on Sunday by announcing the first all-female White House senior communications team. This seven-member team includes several women of color, highlighting Biden’s promise of an administration as diverse as America. “These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better,” said Biden in a statement.

You can read the full article here.

Harris assembles staff as she builds her vice presidential portfolio

Jasmine Wright, CNN

For the first time in history, the top three positions in the office of the vice president will be held by women, two of whom are women of color. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced her key team of senior staffers on Thursday, including  Tina Flournoy as chief of staff, Rohini Kosoglu as domestic policy adviser and Nancy McEldowney as national security adviser. “Together with the rest of my team, today’s appointees will work to get this virus under control, open our economy responsibly and make sure it lifts up all Americans, and restore and advance our country’s leadership around the world,” Harris said.

You can read the full article here.

Diversity in Government Becoming the New Normal in Joe Biden’s America

Susan Milligan, U.S. News

Minority groups and women are breaking barriers when it comes to representation in the political space. While these trends may have previously been a one-off, we are now approaching a new normal as the emerging government starts to look more like America. “Not only were there a record number of women running for office this year, but there were a record number of congressional races where both major party candidates were female,” says Amanda Hunter, spokeswoman for the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. While there is still a long road ahead to reach equal representation for women and minorities in the federal government, we are seeing this movement build momentum and become normalized.

You can read the full article here.

Banner Year for Women in Politics

Sue O’Connell, NECN

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris continue to expand their list of diverse and historic picks for key roles within the administration. With the Biden-Harris administration introducing the first all-female White House senior communications team, the first female Treasury Secretary, among others, it has been a monumental year for women in politics. “Lived experience is so important and when you have women at the table, and women of color, that have a different lived experience than the traditional older white men that are doing this work, it’s going to make the changes that hopefully will represent more people in this country,” said The Barbara Lee Family Foundation’s Amanda Hunter.

You can watch the full interview here.

Seven civil rights groups want a meeting with Joe Biden. The agenda: Appointing Black officials in top roles, not lower-ranking ones

Annie Linskey and Matt Viser, The Washington Post

The heads of leading civil right groups are looking to meet with President-elect Joe Biden, having expressed concern about not feeling  involved in Biden’s picks for positions inside the administration. Clayola Brown, president of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, said Biden had “fallen a bit more than just short” particularly in appointing Black women to “meaningful positions inside of this administration.”

You can read the full article here.

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