WVPA Goals

The goal of WomenVote PA is to increase women's civic and political participation in Pennsylvania through a variety of activities ranging from voter registration drives to helping women learn about issues important to them and their families. Through educational programs, workshops, forums, and other media presentations, WomenVote PA will provide information and training to women of all ages on how to become more effective at communicating their concerns to their elected officials.

Adding Women's Voices

Although women and men generally care about the same issues, women are not adequately represented at any level of government: federal, state, or local. The result being that women's voices are not part of the decision making process and the final say about policies affecting the lives of women and their families are left to men who are the majority of the legislative bodies.

Pennsylvania ranks 47th when looking at the number of women holding elected office, and 47th in terms of women's overall political participation in our state. There is no doubt that we need to elect more women to public office - that is certainly a priority. But we cannot wait until women achieve parity to make our voices heard.

What Can You Do?

1. Register to Vote and remember to vote every election day!
2. Determine which issues are important to you
3. Find additional resources to bolster your position (see Tracking Issues).
4. Involve friends, family and neighbors
5. Learn How to Lobby Elected Officials about your issues
6. Consider running for elected office

First Step: Register to Vote

Registering to vote and voting are extremely important, especially if you want to have an impact on particular issues. Elected officials at all levels of government respond to constituents, mainly because constituents have the power to elect them to office; therefore, being registered to vote and being an informed constituent will help in moving your issues forward. See voter registration.

Second Step: What is your issue or concern?

What issue or issues do you care about? Whether it's job security, equal pay, child care, public education, ending violence, electing more women to public office, or preserving our environment, whatever the issue we want to hear from you. Please let us know what issues resonate with you, and let us know where you live in Pennsylvania.

Third Step: Learn more about your issue

Find out which groups or advocacy organizations focus on your concerns. These organizations may have helpful information that you can use for talking points when educating others, including legislators. Also check the Tracking Issues section of our web site for a list of nonprofit organizations and agencies that frequently work to protect and improve the lives of people in our state.

Fourth Step: Involving friends, family and neighbors

It's important to work locally, and to engage your friends, family and neighbors in discussions about your issue. Consider hosting a meeting in your house, local community center or room at the public library. WomenVote PA will help you with materials to lead discussions.

Fifth Step: Learn to Lobby Elected Officials about your issue

WomenVote PA will also work with you and your group to learn how to lobby elected officials. We conduct workshops on lobbying in which we will role play to help you become more comfortable with the talking points and with lobbying in general. Additionally, WomenVote PA will also help schedule appointments with your legislators. We believe it is important for women to meet their elected officials, so that women's voices are heard about a whole host of issues.

Sixth Step: Consider Running for Elected Office

We believe that once you become proficient at steps 1 through 5, you may want to run for office. Of course not everyone will want to take that step, but we do need more women to run for public office to ensure that women's voices are included in shaping public policy and priorities.

Get Involved and Host a Local Meeting

WomenVote PA is looking for volunteers to host local meetings to discuss the status of women in your county, and to find out which issues are of most concern to you and your family. If you are interested in hosting a local meeting, please send an email to info@womenvotepa.org.