See How She Runs: Emerge America President On Urgent Need For Women To Run For Office

A’shanti Gholar is president of Emerge America.

 As a young girl of 7, A’shanti Gholar discovered C-SPAN and was hooked on watching political discussions. Now president of Emerge America, Gholar says, “I didn’t see a lot of people who look like me—women, Black or Brown people.”

Her parents were not politically minded she says, though they voted. But she got encouragement at school. “I took an 11th grade government class and the teacher brought in the candidates to come speak to the class.”

Just 17, Gholar says she asked both candidates about their stance on minimum wage. The candidate said he had voted for minimum wage, but Gholar saw the voting record and he had not. So she called him out. He said she was mistaken.

The next day her teacher said the Congressman admitted he had lied to the student. It showed her the power she had in speaking the truth.

““If we want to progress as a country, we need more #women in elected office. It is extremely important if we want to have a thriving #democracy,” @AshantiGholar says. ”

In college, Gholar was engaged with College Democrats and Young Democrats and built her career on political engagement. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 2008 and from 2008 to 2011, Gholar was the Deputy Regional Political Director of the Democratic National Committee.

“If we want to progress as a country, we need more women in elected office. It is extremely important if we want to have a thriving democracy,” Gholar says.

From 2011-2014, she worked as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor in the Office of Public Engagement. “I loved being there and seeing all these women in leadership,” Gholar says. After a brief stint at United Way in 2014, Gholar says, “I left because I missed politics.”

“From 2011-2014, @AshantiGholar worked as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor in the Office of Public Engagement. “I loved being there and seeing all these #women in #leadership,” she says.”

The founder of The Brown Girls Guide To Politics, Gholar says, she became National Director of Community Engagement and the Director of African American Engagement for the Democratic National Committee from 2014 to 2016.

“When people called me to help them run for office, it was very upsetting,” that there were not more resources, Gholar says.

She joined Emerge America in 2016 and in 2020 became its first Black female president. With more than 6,000 women who are alums of Emerge training, Gholar says she is expanding the curriculum and types of trainings available.  

Partnering with other organizations such as Emily’s List and Vote, Run, Lead, Gholar says, “There are so many programs we want to get off the ground, such as school board curriculum.” The Seated Together program is for Black women running for higher office. “We are looking forward to extending these programs to Asian, Latina, and Indigenous women,” she says.

“@AshantiGholar joined @EmergeAmerica in 2016 and in 2020 became its first Black female president. #womenleaders”

“We want to expand our work for women to go for appointments on boards and commissions. These are great stepping stones to political office,” says Gholar.

Heading into the 2024 presidential election, Gholar says,” I’m excited to see a woman vice president.”

According to Pew Research Center, “Women make up more than a quarter (28%) of all members of the 118th Congress – the highest percentage in U.S. history and a considerable increase from where things stood even a decade ago.”

“Heading into the 2024 presidential election, @AshantiGholar says, ”I’m excited to see a woman vice president.” #womenleaders”

Yes, it is an improvement, but it is not equal. “Counting both the House of Representatives and the Senate, women account for 153 of 540 voting and nonvoting members of Congress. That represents a 59% increase from the 96 women who were serving in the 112th Congress a decade ago, though it remains far below women’s share of the overall U.S. population. A record 128 women are serving in the newly elected House, accounting for 29% of the chamber’s total. In the Senate, women hold 25 of 100 seats, tying the record number they held in the 116th Congress,” Pew reports.

As of 2023, in Congress, “the number of women among its 535 members will inch up by just two – increasing from 147 in 2022 to 149 in 2023,” according to The Conversation.

“Even though more women than men voted in the the 2022 midterm elections, women’s representation in Congress, with a total of 535 members, will then stand at just 27.9%. At this rate, it will take 118 more years – until 2140 – for there to be an equal number of male and female lawmakers in Congress,” The Conversation reports.

According to the Journal on Politics and Gender, while more women are running for office and serving on the U.S. House of Representatives than ever before, gender matters in two important ways. “First, freshmen women are older than freshmen men. Second, women are both more likely to lose a reelection race and more likely to retire because of electoral concerns than men. The result is that women have significantly shorter careers in the House than men,” the journal reports.

“Both factors—women's delayed entry and early exit—produce fewer women in the House at any given time than if these disparities did not exist. The broader implication of our findings is that more women in the electoral arena is a necessary but not sufficient condition to make the representation of women truly equal,” according to the Journal.

How women candidates are treated by the media is a significant factor. According to Political Research Quarterly, “Newspapers will report on female candidates differently than male candidates. Implicit gender frames subtly draw on masculine stereotypes to reinforce patriarchal power structures through their coverage of political candidates. Explicit gender frames are the overtly sexist ‘hair, hemlines, and husband’ coverage women receive more frequently relative to men.”

“How women candidates are treated by the media is a significant factor. #womeninpolitics #genderbias”

This is not a small problem. According to the journal, “We also find the use of explicit gender frames to be especially common in all-female races. These differences in coverage, especially in all-women contests, can perpetuate stereotypic beliefs that women lack the qualifications needed for political office among voters, and stymie women’s progress toward parity in representation.”

Some companies are stepping up to help women running for office, even if it is as simple as offering a clothing loan program. ”Ready to Run” by M.M. LaFleur helps women candidates with wardrobe loans.

More than 1,000 women applied to the program when M.M.LaFleur debuted it in 2020, and the company successfully lent clothes to over 275 women who ran for various positions — from City Council to Congress. Of the participants, 183 of the 275 candidates got their names on the ballots on November 3rd, according to Chain Store Age. 

“Some companies are stepping up to help women running for office, even if it is as simple as offering a clothing loan program. #representation”

“When we first launched 'Ready to Run,' I was shocked to hear from candidates just how hard it is to get ready for the campaign trail," said Sarah LaFleur, CEO and founder of M.M. LaFleur. 

With the 2024 elections coming soon, Gholar says, “My real hope is for women who are paying attention to see themselves and step up and run for office.”

“With the 2024 elections coming soon, @AshantiGholar says, “My real hope is for women who are paying attention to see themselves and step up and run for office.” #democracy”

 Leadership Takeaway of The Week:

“If we want to progress as a country, we need more women in elected office, It is extremely important if we want to have a thriving democracy. “ A’Shanti Gholar, President of Emerge America