NC gets a ‘D’ rating for its low number of women in politics

The number of women serving in North Carolina elected offices hasn’t changed much over the past five years, earning the state a “D” rating on the latest report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

The national group presented its findings Tuesday at an event hosted by the Council for Women & Youth Involvement, which is part of the N.C. Department of Administration.

“Some of the data is challenging and some of it is disappointing, but it’s important to know where we are,” Secretary of Administration Machelle Sanders said, noting that at the current pace of change, it’ll take until 2084 for women to occupy half the seats in the state legislature. “I can’t wait 64 years ... and we will not wait 64 years.”

Female representation in the N.C. House has increased slightly, from 22% of seats in 2015 to 28% this year, according to the report. But the percentage of senators who are women has decreased from 24% to 20% over the same period.

And the percentage of women in the state’s U.S. House delegation has decreased from 23.1% to 15.4% between 2015 and now.

The report did find a few bright spots for female representation in state politics: Women currently make up 49% of the governor’s appointees to boards and commissions (up from 37% in 2016) and they make up 33% of statewide elected officials.

“Compared with other states, North Carolina falls in the middle of the pack for the share of women in elected office,” said Elyse Shaw, the author of the report.

Several women who spoke at Tuesday’s Council for Women & Youth Involvement described the challenges they faced in running for office and working in politics.

Nida Allam, a Muslim woman running for Durham County commissioner, said she and her family members have faced threats because of her religious identity. And she’s faced questions about how she’d juggle motherhood if she were to have kids while serving.

Sen. Valerie Foushee, D-Orange, described similar experiences.

“We’re asked questions that men are not asked,” she said. “They can be fathers and nobody asks if they can manage their time. ... It is very difficult for people of color, particularly women of color, to get out there and make themselves not just visible but put themselves in a position where they’re listened to and seen as possible leaders.”

Sarah Preston, executive director of Lillian’s List and a former ACLU lobbyist, said she’s witnessed “bullying” of women by male elected officials at the legislature.

“It generates a lot of imposter syndrome for women working in politics,” she said. “It causes a lot of self doubt and second-guessing of your decisions when you’re constantly being undermined.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research report also looked at voter registration and turnout numbers. Those numbers closely track national figures, with 69% of women registered to vote in 2016 and 70% nationally. About 62% of North Carolina women voted in November 2016, while nationally the figure was 59%.

Female voter registration figures were highest in Robeson and Hertford counties and lowest in Anson and Madison counties.

All of those numbers factored into the state’s “D” rating. “A D won’t cut it by any means,” Sanders said. “We can do better.”

The Council for Women & Youth Involvement has scheduled two more online events to present the report, on Aug. 18 and Aug. 25.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.