Status: 🔴 Conservative women’s organization that urged Republicans to use trans sports bans as an electoral wedge issue
Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a conservative Christian women’s advocacy organization founded in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye. Under president Penny Nance, CWA was one of the most vocal national groups promoting the 2021 wave of anti-trans sports legislation as a political strategy for Republicans.
As GOP lawmakers introduced a record wave of anti-trans bills in early 2021, CWA president Penny Nance told Politico that trans student athletics was the:
“wedge issue that will bring suburban women back to the polls and increase their support for Republicans.”
She added: “Republicans would be foolish not to lean into it.” The remarks framed legislation targeting trans children explicitly as a vote-winning strategy rather than a response to any documented problem — consistent with reporting that almost no Republican supporters of the bills could cite examples of trans students competing in their area.
CWA has a long history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage, non-discrimination protections, and transgender recognition.