From the Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) - Dec. 2016 Newsletter

What's New Moving Forward: More Women Inspired to Run Before the election, some anticipated that a Hillary Clinton win might spur throngs of women to follow in her footsteps and run for office. While the win did not materialize, the groundswell of future candidates is happening. Articles in The Washington Post and USA Today offer documentation of burgeoning interest among women in running at various levels. Ready to Run®, the non-partisan campaign training program offered at Center for American Women and Politics, is experiencing the surge: more than 70 women have already registered for the March 10-11 program,a dramatic increase over the number usually registered by early December. Partners around the country who replicate the Ready to Run® model in their own states report similar enthusiasm from prospective candidates. For those not located near a Ready to Run® training, CAWP's Political and Leadership Resource Map lists hundreds of non-partisan and partisan, co-ed and women-only programs: campaign training and leadership development programs, political action committees, and organizations and programs committed to supporting and encouraging women in politics.

Expert Analysis  When Two Candidates are Unlikable... It only matters for the woman, says Adrienne Kimmell, executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. Citing the Foundation's research, she ties this year's election outcome to the finding that "Men don't need to be liked to be elected, but voters are less likely to vote for a woman candidate they do not like." Read the analysis  here.

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Facts & Figures  The Trump Cabinet: Three Women So Far  The New York Times lists Trump cabinet and cabinet-level picks to date including three women: Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina for the U.N; education activist Betsy DeVos for the Department of Education; and former labor secretary Elaine Chao for the Department of Transportation.  See the story here. Who's to Blame? Not Clinton's Base Rebecca Traister, in nymag.com's The Cut, cites a variety of articles blaming women and people of color for Clinton's loss. She insists, "It is unconscionable, this know-better recrimination, directed at the very people who just put the most work and energy into defeating Trumpism, coming from those who will be made least vulnerable by Trump's ascension." Read the full article here.    Anticipating an Off-Site First Lady  Krissah Thompson, in The Washington Post, speculates on what the White House might be like with First Lady Melania Trump living in New York. Check out her analysis in the context of past first families here. A Perspective from Down Under   Australia's deputy labor leader, Tanya Plibersek, suggests that Hillary Clinton's loss is evidence that gender equality is not inevitable. Read about the discussion at an Australian feminist conference here .  Her Loss Made Me Feel... In Mashable, Emma Hinchliffe reports that "Watching Hillary Clinton lose made women feel worse about their own careers," citing research "by the career website InHerSight that found 76 percent of women felt worse about their own careers after seeing the election results." Details are here.  Not Just Men: Rural White Women Backed Trump Too  The Pew Research Center matches up findings from the NBC News national exit poll with an earlier Pew survey on feelings of rural white people about economic concerns to explain why rural white women joined rural white men in supporting Trump. Find the story here.