Julie Wang

January 12th, 2018

Period 5

Project Proposal
Of the 538 members of United States Congress, currently only 104 positions are held by
women. Although this number is a record-breaking proportion of 19.4% women in Congress, it
still remains a mystery why so few women seek positions of federal office when they represent
50% of the United States population. And this disparity may be less crucial if one chooses to
ignore the facts: according to the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics, when women are in
office, they are more willing to champion “results-based” legislation and promote bipartisanship.
Furthermore, with more women at the decision-making table, United States policy can better
reflect female representatives and concerns. Thus, my project will research and present methods
for increasing women’s representation in federal office.
The product of this research project will be an educational workshop for Centennial’s
“TedEd” day in March. My presentation will feature a PowerPoint that walks through the
following topics: a brief history of women in U.S. politics, the impact that women make in
politics, the factors that contribute to a lack of participation, and best practices for encouraging
women to run and preparing women for a career in politics. In my presentation, I also hope to
engage the audience by having discussions with the attendees and gaining their perspective on
why or why not they think young women are equipped to run for office in today’s political
climate. I will also include real-life stories of women who have run for office, despite
preconceived notions of age, race, or educational background. At the end of the presentation, I
will have a “call to action” that encourages the girls to write a political goal for themselves (ex.
running for Maryland Senate in 2036; volunteering on a female candidate’s campaign in the
2018 election cycle; attending a politics camp in the summer). Given the nature of my
presentation, I will need few resources besides my laptop and a projector; the only other
materials I will need are pens/markers and paper for the “call to action” aspect.
The intended audience of this project is young women, particularly those in high school,
who are not just interested in politics, but in any field. However, although high school girls are
my main intended audience, a variety of attendees can benefit from my work. For example,
educators from the school can learn about the benefits of women in federal office and how to
best advocate for young women in politics so they can identify students with political
ambition/potential and encourage them to consider a career in politics. Male students can also
benefit from listening to this presentation and learning about an issue that they may have been
previously unaware of.
Knowledge of this field will be acquired primarily by reading articles, websites and
professional and academic journals. By reading a variety of sources from organizations such as
the Center for American Women and Politics, the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics, and
United Nations Women, I will be able to gain a well-rounded and professional perspective on the
factors that contribute to a lack of female participation in politics. I will also read project and
program descriptions of non-profit organizations, such as Running Start, She Should Run, and
EMERGE Maryland to better understand how existing organizations are tackling this issue.
Finally, I also aim to inform my project with insights from current female politicians and
interview members of the community, such as my mentor.
 Project Timeline

January 12th: Submit proposal of presentation (theme, content, etc.) to Ms. Bagley for review

February 23rd: Complete presentation and prepare for a practice presentation on the 2/27

February 27th: Presentation preview/practice at Girl Up meeting; receive feedback

Week of March 18th-24th: Finalize presentation and send to Ms. Bagley/administration in charge
of the TedEd event

March 29th (tentative): Presentation on TedEd Day

Week of April 1st-7th: Follow-up with workshop attendees to receive feedback and send a “call
to action” to do something for women in politics

May 1st: Celebration of Excellence