We know now that countries led by women did better in the face of the pandemic. And though it may feel like progress is being made at home, despite a record number of female presidential candidates this election cycle, still none managed to clinch the nomination. What’s more, the stakes are at an all-time high to use our voices to effect change--by showing up, by voting… but why not go a step further and become the ones actually doing the decision-making?

Right now, too many women feel hesitant to say they might want to run for office one day. Maybe it feels too self-important, or you feel like you would have no idea how. Or maybe it’s because you aren’t a political science major, or a member of your student government. Here’s the thing--running for office is something everyone can aspire to and that should feel accessible to all, and a lack of confidence is one of the main barriers to women running. This needs to change. Because when women run, women win at the same rate as men. And we’re committed to giving college women a running start.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with Running Start, a nonpartisan nonprofit that empowers young women to get involved in politics and transform our world one elected female leader at a time, to launch a 360-degree movement to open college women’s eyes and ears to this possibility so they can start to shake things up.

On Friday October 30, Her Campus and Running Start are hosting our first-ever Elect Her Training Day, a 4-hour actionable, interactive event for 100 diverse, high-potential college women from across the country to give them the information, inspiration, and tools they need to lay the groundwork to one day run for office. During the event, they'll pinpoint the issues they're most passionate about, identify how they can best leverage their networks, and craft and workshop their “run for office elevator pitch”, all while hearing from majorly inspiring female politicians.

Applicants don’t need to have any particular background, major, or experience to apply--just a passion and a hunger to transform our world.

The application for Elect Her Training Day opens today, September 15 and will close on October 15, but we encourage women to apply now as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply HERE now.

100 women will be selected to participate in this event, but we want as many college women as possible to be able to learn and benefit--so at the end of October, we’ll also be hosting content, interviews, guides, and more in an Elect Her hub on hercampus.com.

Lastly, on Thursday October 29, the night before Elect Her Training Day, join us for a virtual viewing party of SURGE, a feature documentary about the record number of first-time female candidates who ran, won and upended politics in the historic 2018 midterm elections, with special remarks from the film’s all-female director/producer team. RSVP now here and we’ll send you more info on the viewing party as it gets closer.

We hope you'll stand with us this fall as we join forces to give college women across the country a running start.

Stephanie, Windsor & Annie (co-founders of Her Campus)