Center for American Women and Politics
The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) is a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Established in 1971, it is nationally and internationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about U.S. women's political participation. Its mission is "to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life.
The Center provides current numbers and historical data about women in U.S. politics, including information about candidates and officeholders. It also reports information about gender patterns in voting, including gender gaps and the women's vote.
CAWP offers education and outreach programs including:
- Ready to Run®, a national network of non-partisan campaign training programs aimed at electing more women to public office;
- NEW Leadership™, a national nonpartisan program to educate college women about politics and leadership and encourage them to become effective leaders in the political arena;
- Teach a Girl to Lead™, an initiative to make women's leadership visible to America's youth and help boys and girls grow up with more inclusive ideas about who can lead.
CAWP's research addresses emerging questions about American women's political participation. Areas of interest include candidate recruitment, candidates and campaigns, civic and political activism, the impact of women public officials, political parties, women and term limits, women political appointees, women of color in politics, and women voters and the gender gap.