WHY THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT NEEDS MORE AAPI WOMEN TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE
In 2020, the National AAPI Power Fund, in collaboration with New American Leaders Action Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, released a brief on the need for AAPI women to run for political office. The brief explores why AAPI women lag far behind men when it comes to running for elected office and offers recommendations to increase the number of AAPI women candidates. The brief is informed by a series of interviews conducted with a cross section of AAPI women, from nonprofit leaders and organizers to campaign strategists and elected officials, combined with data showing that AAPI women have more progressive views than AAPI men.
Highlights
Approximately seven out of every ten AAPI progressive, civic engagement nonprofits are led by AAPI women, but that leadership does not extend to representation in political office.
AAPI women are under-represented in state legislatures compared to AAPI men. There are 47 AAPI women state legislators, comprising just 32% of the 149 AAPI state legislators in the country.
AAPI women are consistently more progressive than AAPI men. In 2018, 73% of AAPI women supported the Democratic candidate for Congress, compared to 69% of AAPI men.
A new training program to recruit and develop AAPI women as candidates and campaign staff could open up new avenues for AAPI women to begin to run for office in greater numbers.