At all levels of American politics, there is a shortage of center-right leaning women representation. The Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) reports, “In 2020, women hold ... 23.7% of the 535 seats in the 116th U.S. Congress.” Only 22, four percent of the members, are republican women. State legislatures offer little improvement. Women hold 29.3 percent of the seats in state legislatures, with only nine percent of that being republican women. Political involvement is more important now than ever, yet a portion of the population seems to be left out. In part of our Partner Spotlight series, WPLN discusses center-right women’s political engagement with state partner She Holds the Key’s founder and executive director Dawn Crandall. 

Center- and right-leaning women make up more than two-thirds of the population, yet we don’t see those numbers reflected in government. Crandall describes the difference between men and women when they make the decision to run. Men are generally encouraged where women, especially right-leaning women, don’t have that level of support. Crandall also references the current divisive political climate as a reason why women don’t participate, because they do not want to subject their families and children to potential hostility and heightened scrutiny. But their participation is crucial. In the Facebook Live, Crandall says, "Women are going to hold the key to the election, and we were having the conversation of, 'how do we reach those women who aren't engaged in the political process?’ Those women who are very busy—they go about their daily lives, they're probably leaders in their own community—how do we tap into that and how do we get them to engage?"

Crandall argues that these women need to be involved in politics. “When you bring more women to the table… you can have that conversation [about values]... At the end of the day, the more voices you can have at the table, that makes for a better process." People on both sides of the aisle want to see more female representation in government because of the unique experiences they bring to the table.

She Holds the Key began because they realized this shortage of engagement from center-right women in the political arena in their home state of Michigan. She Holds the Key aspires to offer the support that center-right women are lacking as they seek elected office and make their voices heard. Click here for more information about She Holds the Key, and watch the full video below or check it out on the WPLN Facebook page.