Women's Decision 2016 (Part 1)

The 2016 race is shaping up as a face-off between a female Democratic front runner and a flotilla of GOP candidates who can’t win without securing the votes of women. Perhaps more so than in any previous race, this upcoming election may be defined by which campaign can best answer this question: what makes female voters tick?

The answer to that question is complicated – particularly when it comes to women’s reactions to issues like national security and the economy. To win, candidates will need to find ways to assuage these voters’ worries about security and prosperity. And that means they first must understand what kinds of differences exist between male and female voters – and why.

Amidst growing concerns over global extremism and domestic inequality, what do we make of the impact of anxiety on the decisions female voters will make at the polls? And how does societal anxiety about these issues affect our perceptions of female candidates?

Join New America’s Breadwinning and Caregiving and Political Reform Programs for a conversation about how anxiety may shape the electoral landscape – and the prospects for female candidates - in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.

This event is the first in Women’s Decision 2016, an event series produced by New America in collaboration with Quartz.

Follow the discussion online using #AnxietyVote and following @NewAmerica and @Polyarchy.

Introductions:

Liza Mundy

Director, Breadwinning and Caregiving Program, New America

Participants:

Mieke Eoyang

Director, National Security Program, Third Way

Brian Hook
Founder, Latitude, LLC
Advisory Board Member, Beacon Global Strategies
Former Senior Advisor on Foreign Policy to Mitt Romney

Heather Hurlburt
Director, New Models of Policy Change, New America

Moderator:

 Meredith Bennett-Smith
Deputy Ideas Editor, Quartz