How to galvanize moderate women with Jackie Payne
A Q&A with the founder of Galvanize Action
Jackie Payne has three decades of experience leading organizations and working to advance gender, racial, and economic justice. Jackie is the Founder and Executive Director of Galvanize Action, where she is connecting with moderate women to promote civic engagement and increase pro-social, pro-democracy behavior.
Prior to founding Galvanize Action, Jackie designed and ran a national movement-building project for the NoVo Foundation to develop an intersectional approach to ending violence against girls and women. She previously championed reproductive justice as the Director of Government Relations for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and economic justice as a Legal Aid lawyer and as Policy Attorney for the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Jackie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan. She is a trustee of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Foundation and on the board of the Women and Justice Project.
What inspired you to create Galvanize Action?
I’ve spent the last thirty years working on some of the most important issues facing our country, particularly issues impacting women, from defending access to reproductive healthcare to combatting gender-based violence. Over the last decade in particular, I’ve grown increasingly concerned about the rise of authoritarianism in our country. The divisive rhetoric, increased polarization, and the acts of political violence we’ve seen in recent years are very real threats to our democracy that demand immediate attention.
Combatting these threats requires year-round engagement and seeing one another in our full humanity; I knew I had to get involved. So I combined my extensive background in women’s issues and my personal passion for coalition building to found Galvanize Action and work to protect our democracy.
Galvanize Action is a 501(c)4 organization dedicated to understanding ideologically-moderate women, particularly those living in suburban, rural, and small town communities. Often, moderate women—who we’ve seen play a pivotal role in deciding elections—feel left out of the conversation about the future of our country. At Galvanize Action we’re bridging that gap, supporting this audience to use their civic and political power. Democracy requires our participation and we need all voices—including those in the moderate middle—engaged to build an America where everyone can thrive.
Why is engaging moderate women so important?
There are nearly 170 million women in this country, and our unique research has identified 49 million who are not ideologically entrenched, meaning they are open to new ideas and perspectives. That’s a huge number with a lot of civic power. What’s truly unique about moderate women in particular is that they articulate a desire for an America that works for everyone. They want an economy that allows them to thrive, affordable healthcare and childcare, and safe communities. Despite a clear vision for the future they want, this audience does not consistently use their civic power to help get us there. That’s why we’re committed to understanding the issues they care most about, meeting them at their values, and supporting them to actively engage in our democracy.
What has surprised you the most about this voting bloc through your work at Galvanize Action?
A lot has surprised me in this work, but one of the most profound things I’ve learned over the past seven years is how hard life is for so many moderate women. The majority of the women in our audience live in a household where the combined annual income is under $100K and we regularly hear how much they are struggling just to make ends meet. Figuring out how to pay for food, medications, and healthcare for themselves and their loved ones consumes so much of their time and attention. What they really want is a good life for themselves and their family, and they often feel abandoned by policies and politicians. Despite these hardships, the majority of the women we connect with are very high in compassion (nurturing and caring for others) and they are trying to figure out how they can make a difference.
While moderate women are certainly not a monolith, these shared struggles, values, and priorities offer an opportunity to motivate and mobilize. They are a truly powerful civic and political force, and that’s why I’m so committed to helping them tap into that power to create a future we all can be proud of.
White and/or moderate women are often accused of voting against their interests. What do you say to that?
Whenever I hear someone say that, I invite them to get more curious. I always ask myself, “What are people telling us with their vote?” Nearly every demographic except white women moved to the right last cycle. What were people expressing with those votes? There was frustration with the status quo and a lack of confidence in government that they didn’t feel was delivering for their families.
According to our research throughout last year, our audience of moderate women overwhelmingly cited the state of the economy as a driving factor of their vote choice in 2024. They were worried about rising prices and were struggling to figure out how they would be able to make ends meet. They’re still feeling that way so far in 2025, unsure if the economic situation will improve.
While the economy has consistently been their top issue, that’s not to say that they don’t care about other issues, because they certainly do. Our surveys showed moderate women consistently said that they were also concerned about healthcare, immigration, abortion, and preserving democracy. But overwhelmingly, the economy took the cake.
We’ve seen time and time again that this group has the ability to impact communities and decide elections. Any candidate who is looking to secure the moderate women vote in the future should be actively engaging with and paying close attention to this group and their values.
What do moderate women think about the current state of democracy in our country, and how can we mobilize them to save it?
This is a great question, and something that’s top of mind for us. We just conducted a study with moderate white women in the Midwest to learn how they are feeling about the state of democracy. One of the major takeaways is that many are concerned, worried about the erosion of democratic norms and questioning if our institutions can withstand the pressures of the current administration. Despite these concerns, participants in the study expressed a commitment to staying civically engaged and looking for reasonable solutions to our country’s challenges.
As I mentioned before, the pathway to a durable democracy is civic discourse and an engaged electorate. That’s why the work we do at Galvanize Action is so important, and why we will continue connecting with millions of moderate women and supporting them to use their civic power to build an America that truly works for everyone. Our future depends on it.
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