Gender Disparity in Elected Offices
Women make up more than half of the population, but are underrepresented in almost every elected office in the United States. They make up only 20% of the U.S. Senate and 19% of the U.S. House of Representatives. They hold less than a quarter of state legislative offices and statewide executive positions.
Why Elect Women?
Why should we care about the state of women’s representation? What are the benefits of gender parity in elected office? Here are several of the most common answers.
An Exact Portrait of the People
Democratic representatives should reflect the citizenry. In describing his vision for Congress, John Adams said that it “should be in miniature an exact portrait of the people.” Such an “exact portrait” must include women, who make up more than half the population and voters in most elections. Descriptive representation, as it is often called, ensures that all members of a diverse society have a voice in government. Research suggests that female constituents respond well to women representatives -- they become more informed about, engaged with, and active in, politics.
What Women Want
Gender parity in elected office is important because women are uniquely prepared to advocate for women’s interests. Some studies suggest that women legislators tend to be more supportive of so-called “women’s issues,” or policy matters that especially affect women constituents. A recent example that appears to bolster these findings comes from January 2015, when Republican congresswomen broke from their party to block a bill that would have reduced access to abortion to an unprecedented degree. There is, of course, great diversity of opinion among women, and other studies suggest little difference in the actual votes of male and female legislators on women’s issues in most situations -- and even less difference in roll call voting patterns overall.
The End to “Politics as Usual”
Political affiliations aside, women tend to act differently in elected office. Numerous anecdotes and some preliminary research suggest that women have been more effective legislators in recent years. While women in legislative leadership roles are still so rare as to prevent serious study, studies of corporate leadership have shown that women are perceived to be more effective leaders than men.
The reasons women currently act differently in elected office are unclear. Perhaps women are more effective be- cause they have faced a higher bar in order to get into office. At a national level, women legislators sponsor and co-sponsor more of their colleagues’ bills and are more effective at advancing their own — especially when they are members of the minority party. Women seem to be better at finding common ground and making extensive use of cross-partisan women’s caucuses at the state and national level.
The Best and the Brightest
We need more women in elected office because without them, we are missing out on many of the best and the brightest. Women are just as qualified as men to serve in elected office.
The fact that women’s representation in elected office is so low is indicative of a larger problem. Women face structural barriers to elected office. This report outlines exactly what those structural barriers are, how they affect women’s representation, and how we can reach gender parity in our lifetimes. Until we provide women and men equal opportunities to run, win, and lead, we will miss out on immense talent, passion, and experience.
Listed below is our research on women's representation and gender parity in elected office in the U.S. and overseas.
Why should we care about the state of women’s representation? What are the benefits of gender parity in elected office? Here are several of the most common answers.
An Exact Portrait of the People
Democratic representatives should reflect the citizenry. In describing his vision for Congress, John Adams said that it “should be in miniature an exact portrait of the people.” Such an “exact portrait” must include women, who make up more than half the population and voters in most elections. Descriptive representation, as it is often called, ensures that all members of a diverse society have a voice in government. Research suggests that female constituents respond well to women representatives -- they become more informed about, engaged with, and active in, politics.
What Women Want
Gender parity in elected office is important because women are uniquely prepared to advocate for women’s interests. Some studies suggest that women legislators tend to be more supportive of so-called “women’s issues,” or policy matters that especially affect women constituents. A recent example that appears to bolster these findings comes from January 2015, when Republican congresswomen broke from their party to block a bill that would have reduced access to abortion to an unprecedented degree. There is, of course, great diversity of opinion among women, and other studies suggest little difference in the actual votes of male and female legislators on women’s issues in most situations -- and even less difference in roll call voting patterns overall.
The End to “Politics as Usual”
Political affiliations aside, women tend to act differently in elected office. Numerous anecdotes and some preliminary research suggest that women have been more effective legislators in recent years. While women in legislative leadership roles are still so rare as to prevent serious study, studies of corporate leadership have shown that women are perceived to be more effective leaders than men.
The reasons women currently act differently in elected office are unclear. Perhaps women are more effective be- cause they have faced a higher bar in order to get into office. At a national level, women legislators sponsor and co-sponsor more of their colleagues’ bills and are more effective at advancing their own — especially when they are members of the minority party. Women seem to be better at finding common ground and making extensive use of cross-partisan women’s caucuses at the state and national level.
The Best and the Brightest
We need more women in elected office because without them, we are missing out on many of the best and the brightest. Women are just as qualified as men to serve in elected office.
The fact that women’s representation in elected office is so low is indicative of a larger problem. Women face structural barriers to elected office. This report outlines exactly what those structural barriers are, how they affect women’s representation, and how we can reach gender parity in our lifetimes. Until we provide women and men equal opportunities to run, win, and lead, we will miss out on immense talent, passion, and experience.
Listed below is our research on women's representation and gender parity in elected office in the U.S. and overseas.
Our ReportThe State of Women's Representation 2015-2016 is the second in a series of annual reports outlining progress toward gender parity in elected office nationally and in each U.S. state. To learn more, visit Our Report.
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Gender Parity IndexThe Gender Parity Index ranks all 50 states according to how well women are represented in elected office. To see where your state ranks, visit the Gender Parity Index.
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Current Women's RepresentationWith the support of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers, we collect and summarize information about the current levels of women's representation in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, statewide executive positions, and state legislatures.
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