Why Emerge Oregon

Eighty-fourth in the world: that's where the United States ranks for women in elected office, behind Mexico, China and Pakistan.  In fact, women make up just 17% of the U.S. Congress.

Oregon is near the top of the list for state legislatures, with a ranking of 8th in the nation in terms of women in elected office. However, Oregon saw the percentage of women in our legislature decline in 2008.

A pool of highly qualified Democratic candidates is being left untapped.  Too often, women do not see themselves running for office - they don't think they are experienced enough or they just don't know where to start.

Emerge Oregon is changing that!

Emerge Oregon in a national context

Emerge Oregon is part of a national movement to address the under-representation of women in elected office at the local, state, and federal level. Although the network is only seven years old, there are Emerge affiliates in nine states: Arizona, California, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Click here to find out more about Emerge America.

Emerge already has a strong record of success:

• Emerge affiliates have trained 540 Democratic women to run for office;
• 37% of our graduates have run for elected office;
• 50% of these candidates have won!

Our growth is exponential: in 2009 alone, Emerge affiliates will train another Democratic 200 women to run for office!