Capitol's Great Resignation provides women opportunity
We're witnessing the “Great Resignation, Capitol Edition,” with more than a quarter of California's 120 legislators exiting the building in 2022.
Why are we losing so many legislators in one year? It's a combination of redistricting, which left many incumbents with no place to run; a domino effect of open seats as members seek new roles; and the reckoning of term limit reform passed in 2012.
Where some might see chaos, we see opportunity.
The 2022 election marks the start of California's “Great Opportunity” to elect a Legislature that truly reflects the people it serves.
California has a reputation for leading the nation forward on critical issues including climate change, equal pay, reproductive health access, long-term care, minimum wage, family leave, early education and more.
But when it comes to women's representation — California falls short.
Only 37 legislators — less than a third — are women. Of those, 28 are Democrats and nine are Republicans. California ranks 28th in the nation for our percentage of women legislators.
Our goal is parity for women in the California Legislature, this decade. When I briefed political insiders on that audacious goal years ago, many of them gave me a virtual pat on the head and wished me luck. But in 2022, that dream is starting to look a lot more real.
In my 20 years working to elect more racially representative, progressive women to office, I've never witnessed a higher caliber of candidates step up to run at the state level. They are experienced, savvy and ready to win.
In the fight for equal representation, we are all too used to incremental progress at best. But this year, the hard work of identifying, encouraging and preparing women to run is paying off at an unprecedented scale.
With musical chairs ensuring the Legislature will lose at least eight women incumbents by year's end, this historically robust wave of reinforcements is exactly what might ensure women's numbers continue to climb in 2022.
Common sense and research tell us that running for an open seat is the likeliest path to victory for a newcomer. What's unprecedented about 2022 is the volume of open seats. And, in the 35 legislative seats open so far in 2022, 45 female candidates have the capacity to run competitive campaigns. In nine districts, the top two contenders are women.
These women arrive with impressive backgrounds and track records of service to their communities. They're nonprofit directors, nurses, labor and tech leaders, small business owners and entrepreneurs. They've served on city councils, school boards, and local and state commissions.
The women running for open seats in 2022 are overwhelmingly Democratic, and present historic levels of diversity. More than 70% are women of color, and many are LGBTQ+.
In this time of legislative turnover, who comes next will determine what comes next. The nation will look to the pipeline of leaders and innovative policy solutions we battle-test here in the years to come.
The women of 2022 are the future many of us have dreamed of for decades.
They will need to overcome a disproportionate number of barriers along their paths to election. But today, their sheer number, talent and determination should inspire us to look beyond the Capitol's Great Resignation, and recognize this moment for what it is: California's Great Opportunity to put the world's fifth-largest economy on a fast track to reflective democracy.