What Gets Women to Donate? Other Women.

 

According to our research “Stepping Up and Standing Out,” women are inspired by other women’s political involvement, especially when it comes to supporting women running for office. But what exactly does that look like in practice?

When it comes to political campaigns, women are more likely to volunteer or donate to female candidates. This is especially the case for Democratic and millennial women, as well as women of color; 54% of millennial women and women of color stated that they were more likely to give their money or time to a woman candidate, and 55% of Democratic women said they would do the same. On the other hand, 41% of Independent women and 30% of Republican women said they were more likely to support a woman candidate.

Women donated $273 million in 2016, with that number skyrocketing to $517 million in 2018. The numbers aren’t out yet for 2019, but the trends demonstrate women being inspired to donate by seeing multiple women running for office.

According to the Washington Post, women see “giving money is an added show of support, whether to amplify their votes or to lend some help even if the donors don’t plan on eventually casting a ballot for the candidate.” Women donate or give their time as means of supporting women in a small way, as a measure of demonstrating their support for women candidates.

While donations don’t always predict voting behavior (according to Vox, women tend to donate to more than one candidate), this is still encouraging news for women ready to run—the work women do in politics is being recognized and rewarded by other women.

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