Since the election of President Donald Trump, a record number of women have decided to run for office. The Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers University identified at least 79 women interested in running for national, state and local positions in the 2018 election.
But why does it matter if more women run for office? Does having more women in public office actually change women’s lives?
Turns out, yes. In this week’s episode of Divided States of Women, we go to Hawaii, the state with the largest numbers of women in public office. And it happens to be the best state for women, according to factors like health care access and the wage gap.
We also sit down with Hawaii Congress member Colleen Hanabusa and Rep. Beth Fukumoto to talk about anti-Trump activism and the pressures women experience when they run for office.