Running Start

Running Start was created because young women remain only a tiny fraction of the elected officials and candidates for public office in the United States. To truly build the percentage of women leading in politics, we must get more women to run at a young age. Running Start introduces young women to role models, talks to young women about the importance of politics in their lives, and gives them the encouragement and skills to pursue a career in political leadership. What We Do Train young women to run for political office. Why We Do It Less than 1 in 4 elected leaders in the United States are women. Even fewer are young women. For instance, just 7 women in Congress today are under 40 years old. When women run, they win at the same rates as men, but there aren’t enough women running for office. Research shows that women don’t run for a host of reasons, but a key reason is lack of confidence. Running Start gives young women the skills they need so that they can feel confident on their path to politics. How We Do It Running Start has six training programs for high school, college-aged, and recently graduated young women. They are: the Young Women’s Political Leadership Program; the Summit; Elect Her; the Running Start / Walmart Star Fellowship; the Running Start Internship Program; and Run with Running Start. Each program combines skills training from experts (in fundraising, public speaking, messaging, networking, and campaign team building) and mentoring by women in politics. We find that our program participants leave with the confidence to run now (for student government and local office) and the desire and skills to run in the future!