The primary elections are Tuesday, and 128 women are on the ballot as candidates for state and local offices. Richelle Keinath of the Wyoming Women’s Foundation says that may sound like a lot, but there are nearly three times as many men.
“I think we still have a ways to go in terms of what is actually equal,” Keinath said.
The gender gap is even more pronounced when it comes to the state legislature. Eighty men are running, compared to 28 women.
Dan Neal with the Equality State Policy Center says that’s because many women find it too hard to raise children, hold down a steady job, and spend two months in Cheyenne each year.
“If you’re not retired or not independently wealthy, it’s pretty hard to step away and go serve in this legislature,” Neal said. “So does it really represent the broad spectrum of Wyoming society? I’d say really not.”
Neal says women don’t vote as a block, but he says debates would be richer if more women were part of the discussion.
128 women on the ballot for primaries
