Bipartisan Coalition Seeks Pledge from Gubernatorial Candidates:
“If Elected, I Will Appoint More Women”

As the New Jersey gubernatorial election nears, the Center for American Women and Politics
(CAWP) has convened some of the state’s most powerful political women to press candidates to
agree that they will appoint substantial numbers of women to their transition teams and
administrations. Led by a bipartisan Advisory Committee, the Bipartisan Coalition for
Women’s Appointments (BCWA) has asked to meet with both gubernatorial candidates before
the election to stress the urgency of including substantial numbers of women at all levels in the
next administration, from cabinet-level positions to the governor’s “front office” to part-time
boards and commissions.

BCWA has four key goals:

• create the expectation within both major parties that women will play significant roles in
the transition and in government — in cabinet and sub-cabinet positions, on the
governor’s staff, and on boards and commissions;
• help the next governor identify a strong and diverse pool of women candidates for
positions within the new administration;
• educate New Jersey women about the thousands of state, county and municipal appointed
positions available;
• encourage New Jersey women to submit their résumés for gubernatorial appointments
and provide them the tools and information they need to seek appointments.
“Women bring distinctive perspectives to government,” says CAWP director Debbie Walsh.
“CAWP and other researchers have proven that elected and appointed women make a
measurable difference–both in the policies they advocate and the processes they employ as
leaders. That’s why women of both parties insist that the candidates pledge to include significant
numbers of women across their administrations.”

CAWP first convened BCWA during the Kean/Florio contest in 1981 and has reconvened it
before every election for an open gubernatorial seat since then. When it was last convened during
the 2005 election, both major party candidates pledged that, if elected, they would appoint
women to state offices in significant numbers. Governor Corzine followed through on that
pledge, with women comprising 43% of his cabinet members. Currently, Governor Chris
Christie has seven women serving in his 24-member cabinet for 29%.
Governors of New Jersey make appointments to hundreds of positions in the executive and
judicial branches, including many posts that would be elected in other states. They also name
members of over 500 boards, commissions and authorities addressing topics from acupuncture to
youth corrections.

“BCWA wants New Jersey’s next governor to cast a broad net across the state and beyond to
find the best people for the wide range of available positions. The Coalition is working to ensure
that many talented and diverse women are among those appointees,” commented Walsh.

More details about the Coalition can be found at: www.cawp.rutgers.edu/bcwa.

About CAWP
The Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is nationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly
research and current data about American women’s political participation. Its mission is to
promote greater knowledge and understanding about women’s participation in politics and
government and to enhance women’s influence and leadership in public life. CAWP’s education
and outreach programs translate research findings into action, addressing women’s underrepresentation
in political leadership with effective, imaginative programs serving a variety of
audiences. As the world has watched Americans considering female candidates for the nation’s
highest offices, CAWP’s over four decades of analyzing and interpreting women’s participation
in American politics have provided a foundation and context for the discussion.