St Paul's All-Women City Council Offers a Blueprint for Cities Nationwide

In early January, the City of St. Paul, Minnesota, made history when a young, diverse, all-women team was sworn into seven city council seats. St. Paul voters set an inspiring example on November 7, 2023, by electing Mitra Jalali, Anika Bowie, Rebecca Noecker, Saura Jost, Hwa Jeong Kim, Nelsie Yang, and Cheniqua Johnson to office, and their victories are significant given that, in Minnesota, women only hold 35.1% of elected seats in municipal office.

It is noteworthy that all seven of these remarkable women are below the age of 40 and that six of the seven are women of color, reflecting the diversity in the St. Paul, Minn., community; St. Paul has a population of 303,176, and over 35.7% of its residents identify as nonwhite. These women also offer diverse professional experiences, including being a legislative aide, nonprofit executive director, teacher, entrepreneur, and civil engineer.

During a recent interview with National Public Radio, Mitra Jalali, City Council president and council member for Ward 4, revealed some of their strategies for success, including that there is no substitute for hard work and that organized people can overcome organized money. Ms. Jalali was referring to opponents who sometimes outspent the elected women by raising as much as $100,000 — a considerable amount of money for a local race.

In the same interview, city councilwoman Saura Jost attributed the women’s success to the grassroots effort they put in during the campaign. "A lot of us had spent a lot of time in our communities through neighborhood organizations and, through working on other campaigns, had already knocked on many doors in the city of St. Paul. So I think a lot can be learned from that when it comes to thinking about politics nationwide and how we can elect, you know, more women and women of color to these positions,” she said.

Ms. Jalali agreed, believing that the women steadily earned the trust of their community as they were well-informed to balance local "bread and butter" issues like snow removal, addressing potholes, and renter protections with broader goals such as contributing to sustainable living and combating climate change.

The women's efforts provide a blueprint not only for the rest of the nation, but also for the world. According to a UN Women database of female representation in local governments from over 141 countries, women hold 35.5% of elected seats in city governments worldwide, a percentage nearly identical to Minnesota before the all-women team won their respective wards' elections.

But can that blueprint be followed again? When NBC News correspondent Adrienne Broaddus asked the recently elected women leaders, "What do you think about the history you seven women are making?" councilmember Hwa Jeong Kim declared confidently, "It's replicable."

Women have been historically underrepresented in positions of power, and this cohort’s achievement sends a potent message about the value of diverse perspectives in decision-making. They broke barriers to women's political representation by offering a compelling vision for the future, building a grassroots campaign, and vocalizing the community's priorities. They’re paving the way for more women to enter politics and inspiring future generations of female leaders.