The Future of Democracy Depends on Those Who Refuse to Sit Out

The rules of political leadership, written by and for men, are cracking under dysfunction and paralysis.

To get in the room, women have always had to rewrite the rules. That skill is what this moment now requires.

At She Should Run, we sit at the front line of the political pipeline, in direct conversation with women who are not yet running for office but who are already leaders. They know it, and the most trusted people in their lives know it. What we hear from them is raw: what is keeping them on the sidelines, what could bring them in, and what support they need to stay engaged. This vantage point gives us early warning signals about the cracks in democracy and where innovation is needed most.

These cracks are real: dysfunction, disinformation, voter suppression, stalled rights, and rising political violence. When women aren’t at the table, the rules are written without us and too often against us.

There is no single playbook for this moment. Leadership in chaotic times requires nimbleness, learning, and responsiveness. That is why shortly after our most recent election, we launched She Will Fight as a living experiment. In beta, more than 17,500 women engaged. Small, local actions grew into bigger shifts in confidence and agency. Clear, simple entry points worked better than complex strategies. The lesson is that women are ready to co-create the next set of rules, and they need structures that meet them where they are.

The women who showed up demonstrated familiar patterns: drivers who organize, doers who keep things moving, and amplifiers who widen the reach. All are necessary.

The field notes we carry forward come directly from what women told us and what we saw through this beta. They are shorthand for how we want to operate right now, with our ears and eyes open to the here and now:

• Stop waiting for perfect conditions or someone else and start where you are.
• Take small actions that punch above your weight and build long-term power.
• Claim community leadership as political leadership. The work you do where you live is power, and it counts.
• Learn in public and adapt quickly. Dusty strategies don’t move people.
• Own our story, because it is who we are, it is what this moment needs, and a generation of girls is watching. Show them what leadership looks like, or someone else will decide for them.

This is why we’re building the Local Leader Lab. Democracy’s cracks start close to home, and local leadership is the frontline of repair. The Lab backs drivers, women who will likely run for office in the future but whose first step is leading now. The tools and stories we co-create with them ripple out to doers and amplifiers, keeping the work alive and responsive.

The fight ahead will not be won by silence or a wait-and-see approach. When women stay quiet, our futures are negotiated without us. The women who will lead the next decade are those willing to act, to adapt, and to write the rules the moment demands. History is not waiting. Neither should we. She Should Run is here to do our part to make that possible.