Empowerment

Participants discover that leadership skills can be learned. During an Elect Her workshop, they get comfortable with building a platform, networking, public speaking, and more.

They realize that they have peers as interested in running for office as they are. Young women often receive little or no encouragement to lead in politics and can find few political role models, so this helps them feel comfortable with their own ambitions.

And critically, they meet folks who prove that people just like them have run and won. The workshop includes a panel of women in elected office as well as student government officials (if relevant).

From all of this, and more, Elect Her participants gain Confidence.

They get those skills from top operatives and experts who share lessons from their real work in the field. Running Start 's trained Elect Her facilitators bring their professional experiences and their enthusiasm for the power of young women to each workshop.

And like all Running Start programs, Elect Her includes a campaign simulation where they can put their new tools to the test.

This is how participants learn Capabilities.

Not only do Elect Her participants meet new friends and mentors during the workshop, but they can continue building their networks via Running Start’s online communities.

With these interactions, they make Connections.

Running Start addresses women’s economic empowerment by increasing their political representation.

Many of our programs include workshops on personal and political finance, including salary negotiation for our Congressional Fellows (via AAUW's Start Smart), fundraising (including a hands-on fundraising game) in our High School program and the Fellowship, and basic financial literacy for new professionals (personal budget workshop, setting up retirement accounts, analyzing benefits options, etc.).

With Google's support, we will refine our economic curriculum and incorporate it in our most accessible and easily expandable program: Elect Her. We will pair this effort with new, paid opportunities for alums and other young women leaders to bring Elect Her to their communities. And, we will pay partner organizations that are embedded in and already serving less resourced communities to help us reach new audiences.

Running Start's commitment to economic empowerment runs through our internal culture, as well.
Learn more here.