There are no major protests or demonstrations in Chicago today on International Women’s Day—but that doesn’t mean women are ignoring the push for pay equity, reproductive justice, and gender parity. Instead, more women are getting politically active: they’re planning to vote, become activists, or run for office themselves.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, Taylor took the stage during Russian feminist punk band/protest group Pussy Riot’s show at the Subterranean to talk to an overwhelmingly female audience about the importance of engagement in politics.
In 2018, women are also running for office in record numbers—overwhelmingly as progressive Democrats. More than 664 women—about 70 percent of them Democrats—are running or are expected to run for state and national offices this year, according to an analysis by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The number of women planning to challenge Democratic incumbents in the U.S. House is up nearly 350 percent from 2016. Since Trump’s election, more than 26,000 women have reached out to Emily’s List, an organization that recruits and trains pro-choice candidates, about the possibility of launching a campaign.
