In 2025, the Mayors Innovation Project formed and launched the Women Mayors Network— which generated real data about the experience of women mayors. Read on for my story & survey results from more than 200 others in “Under Pressure: How the Unique Challenges Faced by Women Mayors Undermine Democratic Governance.

I had a tumultuous term as mayor.  The intense pushback I faced from inside and outside of City Hall I mostly attributed to the intensity of attention on multiple crises that the city faces, the emotions evoked by the first candidacy and victory of President Trump, and the delicacy of pursuing a racial equity agenda in a majority white city. I also thought, however, that there was something I was doing wrong, some key to slot into the lock that if I turned it just right would ease up on the throttle of dissent I faced.

When I left office I had the opportunity to coach a cohort of women mayors from around the country. The first time we came together, I came to understand something vital: it wasn’t just me. I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t imagining it. These women also faced the equivalent challenges I had:

• I stood alone on stage in the spotlight when noise and protest erupted from the dark of the balcony and I did not know if I would be shot.
• Multiple times I was physically surrounded by protesters while speaking.
• Protesters came to my home.
• A lawsuit claimed my budget presentation violated the City charter, when my male predecessor has done it that way multiple times.
• A department head lied to my face repeatedly about having done what I had directed.
• Veteran council members misled new council members about their role and mine, leading to ruptures that never healed.

We all faced belittling comments about our looks, and questions about our family status. We all had patronizing articles in the local paper about the work we were doing—or articles attributing our work to others. We all understood instinctively that to voice these truths was to invite more condescension, the assumption that we were making it up, and accusations of using “the woman card” to excuse our so-called poor performance. All of this was more poignantly true for women mayors of color.

This group of women provided all the data I needed to get the burden of self-reproach off my shoulders. But constituents need more than that. Each of our voices alone is not enough evidence to combat years of systemic gender imbalances that also train people – women and men – how to effectively use the tools of sexism to thwart women’s agendas and successes.

I pled this case to the Mayors Innovation Project (MIP) who, without hesitation, formed and launched the Women Mayors Network—a safe landing spot for women mayors to be in community with one another as a bulwark against the feelings of isolation and “crazy” that we face. In the last three months, MIP and the Women Mayors Network have given an essential gift to anyone who cares about women’s leadership: real data about the experience of women mayors.

“Under Pressure: How the Unique Challenges Faced by Women Mayors Undermine Democratic Governance” surveyed over 200 mayors, men and women, and conducted focus groups with over 50 women mayors. It gives real, hard data about the experience of women mayors. The data reflect our experiences. Women mayors are harassed and threatened on the campaign trail and while governing, more than men. Women mayors face slow-burn sabotage from colleagues, constituents, and staff that men mayors do not face at the same rate. It takes a toll. Women mayors have to spend time and attention every day fending off encroachments, managing their safety, and considering appearance. All of that is time that would be better spent on the actual work of governance and leadership.

The report also has recommendations about what anyone can do to support women leaders: implementing suggested policies, supporting reasonable security measures, calling out what you’re seeing so the mayor doesn’t have to, and challenging your own biases.

In the end, for me the most telling data point in the study is this: 80% of women mayors would encourage others to run for office, the same rate as men, even given everything they’ve experienced. This shows an extraordinary commitment to leadership. Now is the right time to make it easier and more possible for women to run, and for women to lead in America.

*Join WPI online on Wednesday, February 4th at 6pm ET to hear more.
Former Mayors Victoria Woodards (D) of Tacoma, Washington, Nan Whaley (D) of Dayton, Ohio and Betsy Hodges (D) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will discuss new findings in the report, Under Pressure: How the Unique Challenges Faced by Women Mayors Undermine Democratic Governance, produced by the Mayors Innovation Project’s Women Mayors Network. The report explores the unique challenges faced by women mayors across the United States through a national survey and in-depth interviews and highlights the resilience of these leaders and the investments that actually make a difference — especially peer networks, supportive staff, and basic safety infrastructure. Read the full report here. Details and registration here.