In the News – WTF – Women for Tennessee Future

Tennessee women talk about need for political participation, more female representation

February 10, 2019February 9, 2019

Chattanooga Times Free Press, February 9, 2019

The 2018 midterm elections were dubbed by some “The Second Year of the Woman” as elected offices across the country saw an increase in women in their seats.

On the federal level, there was a 4 percent increase in female representation, but despite electing its first female senator, Tennessee still lags behind other states.

Women here remain vastly underrepresented in political offices.

Filing Deadline Thursday: More Women Expected on TN Ballots This Year

March 4, 2018February 15, 2018

Public News Service, February 15, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Thursday is the deadline for Tennesseans to file as candidates with a board of election in order to appear on the May primary ballot.

While the exact numbers are not quantified, anecdotal evidence points to a record number of women pursuing leadership positions at the local, state and national level.

Currently women hold 16 percent of elected offices in the Volunteer State, compared with a national rate of 25 percent.

Sarah McCall, expansion director with the group Women for Tennessee’s Future, expects that to change this year, based on the interest her group’s political action committee is seeing.

Tennessee women can change the course of politics next year

December 15, 2017December 13, 2017

The Tennessean. December 13, 2017.

They came out in the pouring rain last month. They stood in line, and they didn’t leave until they had their say.

Voters in Virginia – especially progressive women, minority voters, and younger people – had a lot on their minds.

Democrats didn’t really have to work that hard to lure voters. When Nazis and unhooded Klansmen showed up in Charlottesville this summer, and the President blamed “many sides,” Virginians didn’t forget in November.

What Women’s Right to Vote Means in a Trump Era: A Q&A With Vanderbilt Professor Bonnie Dow

August 25, 2017

Rewire. August 25, 2017.

It’s been nearly 100 years since women were granted the right to vote under the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The day is commemorated nationally on Women’s Equality Day, August 26.

Did women defeat Hillary Clinton?

January 5, 2017

Bonnie Dow. The Tennessean. January 5, 2017.

Amid all of the Election Day postmortems, one question has been repeatedly posed to me as someone who works with an organization that funds women candidates: what happened to the women who were going to elect Hillary Clinton our first woman president?

WTF’s Up with Tennessee Ballots (It’s Not the Acronym You’re Expecting)

November 9, 2016

Michael Edward Miller. WUTC, November 9, 2016.

Governor Bill Haslam created Insure Tennessee to help 280,000 low-income residents in the state get health insurance. But a small group of Republican lawmakers in the state Senate Health Committee killed the plan before it got off the ground, which inspired the creation of Women for Tennessee’s Future, an organization opposing Republicans by grooming female Democratic candidates to run for office.

Beth Harwell rewrites history of Jeremy Durham debacle

September 23, 2016

Bonnie Dow. The Tennessean. September 23, 2016.

Last week’s vote to expel Jeremy Durham from the Tennessee General Assembly was a welcome conclusion to the sordid saga that has occupied the state’s attention since January.

Yet House Speaker Beth Harwell’s self-congratulatory account in The Tennessean of her role in the Durham debacle overlooks key details worth remembering.

Nashville’s Mayor Wants More Women To Run For Office

July 30, 2016July 28, 2016

Carl Bialik, FiveThirtyEight, July 28, 2016

Tonight, Hillary Clinton will be the first woman to accept the presidential nomination of a major political party. Last night, I spoke to Megan Barry, who last year became mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, about the obstacles that women face and have overcome in electoral politics, which also were explored by our colleague Christine Laskowski in a video this week.

Women, Democrats stand in solidarity against Durham

July 22, 2016July 14, 2016

Thomas Novelly. The Tennessean. July 14, 2016.

A group of 11 women took to the steps of Legislative Plaza on Thursday to read excerpts of Jeremy Durham’s sexual harassment during his time in office as outlined in a 50-page report from the Attorney General.

Mayor Barry Announces Creation of Council on Gender Equity

July 22, 2016July 13, 2016

Nashville.gov. July 13, 2016.

Mayor Barry announced the creation of a Council on Gender Equity today through an executive order. The Council will serve in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and Chief Diversity Officer, and will assess identified gender inequity issues and develop recommended solutions that would assist in ensuring that the Metropolitan Nashville Government is operating in a manner that reflects the needs of all people. Members will provide information, advice, research, program recommendation, and education, on issues of interest.