[1] It was founded in 2020 by CEO Emily Ramshaw and publisher Amanda Zamora, both former Texas Tribune staffers who served as editor-in-chief and chief audience officer, respectively.

The organization is named after the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote, reflecting its mission "to empower women—particularly those underserved by and underrepresented in American media—with the information, community, and tools they need to be equal participants in our democracy.

[4][5] Other executives include Johanna Derlega, chief revenue officer, formerly at The Hill and National Journal; Errin Haines, editor-at-large, and former national writer on race for the Associated Press; Julia B. Chan, editor-in-chief, previously at KQED, Mother Jones and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting;[6] Ben Werdmuller, CTO, formerly co-founder of Elgg and Known.

[7][non-primary source needed][8][9] While it was building its staff in early 2020, the news organization had a content sharing agreement with The Washington Post.

[3] Starting April 22, it had planned to kick off a national tour of Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle in order to help shape its coverage, but this tour was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.