It's the Year of the Woman... Again

The Washington Post published a three-piece video series about the surge in the amount of women running for House, Senate, and gubernatorial positions this fall. The Post says that there is an increase in female candidates on both sides of the political aisle, and 1/3 of those candidates are women of color. I found this interesting and important because Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid clearly galvanized women across the political spectrum and played a role in developing their political self-efficacy. If women don't have any role models in politics or the media to whom they can relate, they are less likely to believe that they can accomplish something like securing a presidential nomination or winning a Senate seat. It's interesting to think about the effect this surge in female candidates will have on the self-efficacy of young girls now and in the future, because if they see women in positions of power in government and being spoken about with respect on the news, they will believe that they can accomplish the same.