The Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI) is an advocacy group supporting policies related to women’s health, life for women in foreign countries, and conditions for working women. The institute also runs a fellowship program which aims to increase the number of women working in the field of policymaking, as well as a networking and professional development program for women working in senior congressional positions. ¹ Until March 2017, the WCPI was known as Women’s Policy, Inc. The organization grew out of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, which lost funding in the 1990s. ^{2 4 5}  The institute has also promoted Democratic members of Congress who identify themselves with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement, and it has backed initiatives which aim to shift the demographics of scientific and engineering industries to favor ethnic minorities. ^{6 7} At the same time, the WCPI maintains close ties with the corporate world. The institute’s “corporate-labor advisory committee” includes representatives of technology giants such as Apple and Facebook (now known as Meta) as well as pharmaceutical firms including COVID-19 vaccine developers Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson. Additionally, a representative from automobile manufacturer Volkswagen sits on the WCPI advisory committee, while one of the company’s senior vice presidents sits on the institute’s board of directors. ^{8 9}

Background

The Women’s Congressional Policy Institute was founded in 1995 as Women’s Policy Inc., a nonprofit research organization intended to replace some of the functions of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, which itself was founded in 1977. According to the Washington Post, the caucus lost funding when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 1994. Despite the explicitly bipartisan nature of the defunct caucus and efforts by Women’s Policy, Inc. to appear bipartisan as well, the newly formed organization adopted support for abortion as an official position. The Washington Post reported that this led many female Republican legislators not to join, and some female Democratic lawmakers nonetheless chose to create their own women’s group instead of joining the new organization. ¹⁰

Much of WCPI’s work seems organized in ways which are meant to appeal to both parties in Congress, albeit with feminist and left-of-center social change priorities such as diversity. Several issues are highlighted on their website, including focus on female veterans, increasing women’s presence in STEM fields, and challenges facing women-owned businesses. ¹¹ Samples of their analyses of legislative actions, including those related to abortion, are oriented towards providing news-style facts about the actions instead of providing a position on the issues being debated. ^{12 13}

Financial Supporters

Although the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute claims that its mission is to “work across party lines,” its top funders include several of the largest philanthropic institutions on the institutional left, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of former software executive Bill Gates and his now ex-wife Melinda Gates, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars into promoting the controversial Common Core nationwide education standards, an initiative of the Obama Administration; the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which has funded research initiatives intended to support government censorship of social media, organizations promoting the expanded availability of abortion services, and activist groups opposing the use of fossil fuels; and the Democracy Fund, a grantmaking foundation chaired by former e-commerce executive Pierre Omidyar, which has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in left-wing voter mobilization groups, media outlets, and think tanks. ¹⁴

The WCPI has also received funding from the San Francisco-based utility corporation Pacific Gas and Electric, commonly known as PG&E, as well as the Internet and Television Association, a major trade organization and political lobbying force for the digital media industry. ^{15 16} The broadcasting conglomerate Comcast NBCUniversal has also backed the WCPI. The corporation is a sponsor of the institute’s economic briefing series. ¹⁷

Leadership

LaQuita Honeysucker is the chair of the board of the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. She is a legislative director with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, one of the largest organized labor organizations in the United States and a member organization within the AFL-CIO. Her position involves lobbying Congress on the union’s favored issues, particularly employment legislation, as well as other causes such as liberal immigration reform. Before she joined the UFCW, Honeysucker worked as the legislative counsel to U.S. Representative Robert C. Scott (D-VA). ¹⁸

Stacey D. Stewart is the secretary-treasurer of the board of the WCPI. She is the president and chief executive officer of March of Dimes, a charity focused on the wellbeing of children and mothers. Prior to joining March of Dimes, Stewart was the president of the American branch of United Way Worldwide, a philanthropic organization. She also previously held several senior positions with the financial service giant Fannie Mae and was the chief executive officer of its philanthropic arm, the Fannie Mae Foundation. ¹⁹

Cindy Hall is the president of the WCPI. Before she joined the institute in January 1999, she spent close to two decades working for various members of Congress. Hall received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Colgate University. ²⁰ In 2020, Hall was receiving an annual salary of more than $160,000 from the WCPI. ²¹

Cynthia Ramos is the policy director at the WCPI. Prior to joining the institute, she worked as a senior legislative aide to then-U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). ²²

Financials

Since 2015, the institute’s total annual revenue has fluctuated between just under $600,000 and more than $980,000. ²³

1. “What We Do.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/our-work/
2. “Women’s Policy Inc is now Women’s Congressional Policy Institute.” National Association of American Veterans. March 17, 2017. Accessed December 4, 2022.

   https://www.naavets.org/womens-policy-inc-now-womens-congressional-policy-institute/

4. Mary Hawkesworth et al. “Legislating By and For Women.” Center for American Women and Politics. November 30, 2001. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/2021-12/congreport103-104_a11y.pdf[/note]

   While the WCPI describes itself as bipartisan, its top financial backers include some of the leading left-wing grantmakers in the United States, most notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which prioritizes left-of-center causes. ³ “What We Do.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/our-work/

5. “Foundation Partners.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/foundation-partners/
6. Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Twitter. June 1, 2022. Accessed December 4, 2022.

   https://twitter.com/WCPInst/status/1531983405142925312

7. Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. September 14, 2022. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://twitter.com/WCPInst/status/1570050792165445637
8. “Corporate-Labor Advisory Committee.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/corporate-labor-advisory-committee/
9. “Board Members.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/
10. Kevin Merida. “Role of House Women’s Caucus Changes.” The Washington Post. February 15, 1995. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/02/15/role-of-house-womens-caucus-changes/b5f874cf-eb91-47a3-8e18-079284a1a0a5/
11. Briefings, Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/our-work/briefings/
12. ^[1]  Women’s Congressional Policy Institute, “House passes welfare reform bill.” Accessed December 5, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/source/house-passes-welfare-reform-bill/
13. Women’s Congressional Policy Institute, “Senate fails to advance abortion legislation.” Accessed December 5, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/source/senate-fails-to-advance-abortion-legislation/
14. “Foundation Partners.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/foundation-partners/
15. “Foundation Partners.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/foundation-partners/
16. Internet & Television Association 2018 Internal Revenue Service Form 990. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/530222396/201943189349308724/full
17. Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Twitter. July 19, 2022. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://twitter.com/WCPInst/status/1549424575527755776
18. “Board Members.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/
19. “Board Members.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/
20. “Our Staff.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/wcpi-staff/
21. “Womens Congressional Policy Institute.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521914894
22. “Our Staff.” Women’s Congressional Policy Institute. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.wcpinst.org/who-we-are/wcpi-staff/
23. “Womens Congressional Policy Institute.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521914894