WASHINGTON, D.C. — As election results continue to come in, Independent Women’s Voice (IWV) proudly celebrates a wave of victories for pro-woman congressional members-elect with approved scores on the Riley Gaines Stand With Women Scorecard. Of those candidates on the Scorecard who were Riley Gaines “approved,” the win rate is currently 85%, and growing as more results are reported. With members-elect that stand with women securing a majority in the U.S. Senate and poised to hold a majority in the U.S. House, it is resoundingly clear that Americans want leaders who will fight for policies that preserve female opportunities and private spaces.
Women’s rights to single-sex spaces and opportunities—including the right to compete in women-only sports competitions—have been under attack. IWV, over the past four years, has worked to elevate this issue in the media and raise widespread awareness among the public, highlighting stories of discrimination and suffering from women and girls, as well as data showing the harm it has caused.
Women’s equality was not just a sleeper issue in this election, but the game changer culminating in historic victories for women’s sports and women’s spaces. IWV knew this would be a winning issue with national prominence: According to polling conducted by Wick Insights for IWV in June 2024, 73% of voters nationwide said, when voting, preventing men from accessing women’s private spaces, athletics, and educational opportunities was important to them (73% of women, 72% of Independents).
In partnering with Riley Gaines, an ambassador for Independent Women’s Voice since 2022, IWV launched the Riley Gaines Stand With Women Scorecard this election cycle to generate a surge in nationwide interest, especially in key states, and inform voters which candidates stand with women and which do not.
Shortly after its introduction, the scorecard moved dozens of candidates to take action, including signing IWV’s Stand With Women Commitment and making clear their stances on whether they intend to support legislation that protects female opportunities. Examples of such legislation include IWV’s Women’s Bill of Rights legislative options, which would fortify the definitions of sex-based terms like ‘woman’ and ‘man’ used in state law.
The Riley Gaines Stand With Women Scorecard will continue to hold leaders accountable for protecting women’s rights by scoring the incoming Congress based on their votes.
In October, Independent Women’s Voice hosted a “Stand With Women” program, led by Tulsi Gabbard and Riley Gaines, before an audience of hundreds of Pennsylvanians and millions of livestream viewers to discuss the problems that women and girls face in their sports today and the lack of leadership to protect women’s equal opportunities. Speakers included Meghan McCain, host of “Citizen McCain” and former co-host of The View; Sage Steele, host of “The Sage Steele Show” and former ESPN broadcaster; Royce Gracie, UFC Hall of Famer; former NFL player Frank Murphy; and other professional athletes and advocates—all calling on those in public office to recognize what’s at stake and take action to preserve sex-based rights for women in America.
The fight to protect single-sex spaces extends beyond sports. Kelsey Bolar, director of IWV’s newly launched storytelling platform, IW Features, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September on the harmful fallout of policies that allow men—including convicted sex offenders—to declare themselves “women” and be transferred to and housed in women-only prisons. Bolar spoke on behalf of several incarcerated women and employees inside the correctional world who have bravely shared their stories through IW Features’ exclusive documentary series, “Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons.”
IWV is proud that the fight to protect women’s spaces is bipartisan, as both Republican and Democrat candidates have signed on to Stand With Women.
“Those masquerading as ‘pro-woman’ are on their way out the door. The American people have proven that they are tired of the radical Left’s feminist facade that has eroded women’s rights and shattered our system of equality between the sexes. Women and girls in America will have an incredible comeback story to tell for generations to come; chapter one starts today with a new wave of elected leaders who stand with women,” said Victoria Coley, vice president of communications at Independent Women’s Voice.
Learn more about IWV’s work to protect women’s spaces below:
- 277 candidates for federal office and incumbent Senators received “approved” scores on the Riley Gaines Stand with Women Scorecard.
- In October, IWV engaged with leaders across the state of New Mexico, holding Stand With Women events in Las Cruces and Albuquerque to champion pro-woman policies for New Mexicans.
- In collaboration with Independent Women’s Law Center, IWV has developed “Women’s Bill of Rights” legislative options to fortify the definition of sex-based terms already used across state and federal law, such as ‘male’ and ‘female.’ Eight states—Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Louisiana—have adopted Women’s Bill of Rights-inspired legislation to protect biological sex as a distinct legal category.
- Independent Women’s Forum, IWV’s sister organization, organized the Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour. Visiting 30 states in 30 days, the tour traveled coast to coast to activate supporters across the country and expose the consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s new Title IX regulations, which jeopardize women’s sports and equal opportunities.
- IWLC filed a lawsuit (Alabama v. Cardona) representing the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida against the Biden-Harris administration for its unlawful Title IX rewrite, and has also filed amicus briefs in the Fifth, Sixth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, arguing that the Biden-Harris administration’s Title IX rewrite strips women and girls of their rights to equal athletic opportunity and privacy.
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