Dawn Huckelbridge has served as founding director of Paid Leave for All since 2019. She has spent her career in gender policy, political organizing, communications, and building early-stage programs and campaigns.
Dawn has held leadership positions at Supermajority, American Bridge, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, People For the American Way, and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a master’s degree in gender and social policy and studied political science and communications at Northwestern University. She loves good food, good government, and raising her son in Capitol Hill.
This year more than 450,000 women dropped out of the workforce.
41 states have enacted abortion bans of some kind and GOP legislators in 10 states have introduced bills classifying the procedure as homicide.
Domestic violence is on the rise, along with gendered political violence.
Maternal mortality in the U.S. continues to be the worst among wealthy countries, particularly for Black and Indigenous women, and is getting worse.
Philanthropic giving for women and girls is 2% of all charitable funding.
Venture capital for female founding teams makes up 2% of funding.
The gendered pay gap, wealth gap, and retirement gap persist.
For the first time since 2010, the total number of women serving in the U.S. Congress declined.
We remain one of the only countries in the world with no form of national paid leave or subsidized child care, and costs of all kinds are rising, hitting women hardest.
And, sexist algorithms and a growing manosphere undergird it all.
For all we hear about a male loneliness epidemic and a crisis of masculinity, the state of women in America is not good—and in many ways, worse than it’s been for generations. But these terrifying indicators are also a sign of the last gasps of a changing world. In a time of constant crisis, spin, and noise, let’s not forget this is all on the ballot. And as we’re seeing in the fallout every day, elections have consequences.
And we have reasons to hope. Women powered a wave in the 2018 midterms that brought more than 100 women into the House of Representatives. It followed the energy from marches, metoo, and more. What we can’t lose is that momentum again, we can’t let the crush of crisis keep women home on election day. Women have voted at higher rates than men for decades and often make the difference in close elections. And if they had voted in the way they did in 2020, last year’s outcome would have been different.
Pundits and pollsters are already talking about the role of soccer and security moms and “weighted vest women” as deciding factors in the upcoming midterms. We know that Black women are the backbone of democracy in our country, and the question is—will white women show up? Will all women vote in 2026, and will we collectively hold those abusing power and harming women to account?
In the backdrop we’re seeing trends pulling women away from civic life—the myth of the “tradwife,” staged by highly successful businesswomen and content creators. In a country failing women, it’s understandable why some—particularly young women consuming this media—would turn away from political systems and seek fulfillment in the home, in traditional roles. Here’s the catch: the whole premise of feminism is that you choose your own role. Perhaps we haven’t been saying that loudly enough. But we all have a role to play in democracy and our actions impact it—whether we vote or whether we stay home, whether we’re informed or whether we tune out. And when we vote, when we run, when we volunteer and participate in public life, we have the ability to change those very structures failing us. And in a country with policies that support women, we would have a whole lot more ability to find balance; to work, to mother, to lead, and I’ll add—to have some fun. To rest and recharge, to enjoy life. Perhaps no one can have it all, but what we can’t forget is we absolutely can and deserve to have a lot more than we do right now. That world might be a vote away.
We have political rising stars and heavyweights, both women and men, focused on and running on issues disproportionately impacting women, from universal child care and paid leave to the naming of sexual harassment and violence, alongside and connected to unapologetic populism. Women, from moms in the military to 26-year-old social media influencers, are running in the midterms. I’d urge you to get acquainted with all the candidates in your district and their agendas, be sure you’re registered to vote, find your polling place, knock on some doors, and show up next year, and every election, because women have the power to change everything.
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