To see another record year for women candidates, we have to do more than ask women to run

By Kelly Dittmar and Debbie Walsh

There is a myth that has permeated women and politics commentary and it goes like this: women need to be asked to run for political office, and it takes an average of seven “asks” for a woman to make the decision to run. This statistic has been used repeatedly to motivate more asking, often paired with a call to action for women (and men) in an audience to encourage a woman to run for office…seven times. But here’s the thing — there is no research…