Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D.-N.Y.) will help Lifetime launch the network's non-partisan 2012 "Every Woman Counts" campaign with a panel and training event at Hofstra University on Long Island, N.Y., Friday (Dec. 2).
As the 2012 Presidential election cycle approaches, women voters will again be a key determining factor in the outcome. But as a result of the 2010 election, the percentage of female representatives in Congress went backwards for the first time in more than 30 years.
The United States currently ranks 90th in the world in women's elected representation, according to Lifetime, and the 2008 election cycle was the first where women actually lost seats in Congress.
Gillibrand will join a panel and training event -- "Getting Off the Sidelines: A Conversation About the Urgency of Women's Political, Community and Business Leadership Today" -- for more than 200 university students and community members.
Also on the panel: Sam Bennett, president, the Women's Campaign Fund; Tiffany Dufu, president, the White House Project; Geri Barish, founder and president, 1 in 9 Foundation; Anna Kaplan, newly elected member of the North Hempstead Town Council.
The event will take place at Hofstra's Helene Fortunoff Theater in the Monroe Lecture Center at 10:30 a.m.
First launched in 1992 and continuing through every subsequent Presidential election cycle, Every Woman Counts is dedicated to amplifying women's voices in the political process, encouraging them to register to vote, speak out on the issues they care about and run for office. By partnering with non-profit coalitions, the campaign activates women across the country while providing a forum to highlight the issues women care about most. The campaign will include extensive information online, original polling, women's events at national conventions, public service announcements and candidate trainings.
