Women in the U.S. Senate
Twenty women (14D, 6R) serve in the Senate of the 114th Congress of the United States. In the 2014 U.S. Senate election, only 4 women won in the 33 open seats. With the loss of incumbent Mary Landrieu in a December runoff, 20 women remain in the U.S. Senate. By contrast, in 2012, women won a third of all U.S. Senate elections – and eleven seats in total.
Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland has taken it upon herself to create a bipartisan women’s caucus in the Senate, earning her the unofficial title of the “Dean of Senate Women.” Just as male Senators of the past gathered to smoke cigars and talk about policy, Senator Mikulski has organized all of the women in the chamber, regardless of party, to meet once every few months since she has been in office. Between meetings, these women attend each other’s lifetime events including marriages and baby showers, all with a strict policy preventing press and cameras from joining the group. The camaraderie that Senator Mikulski’s meetings has fostered continues in the Senate where the women have proved more adept at working across the aisle on bipartisan legislation.
Unless otherwise specified, our data on women in state and national government is sourced from the Center for American Women and Politics (May 2015). Find Appendix in the 2015 State of Women's Representation Report.
Unless otherwise specified, our data on women in state and national government is sourced from the Center for American Women and Politics (May 2015). Find Appendix in the 2015 State of Women's Representation Report.
Women in the Senate throughout History
Hattie Wyatt, First Elected Woman Senator
In 1931, Hattie Wyatt Caraway was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Senator for more than a day. She was appointed after the death of her husband Thaddeus H. Caraway, an Arkansas Senator. Though she made few public appearances during her husband’s term, Caraway stayed involved in politics behind the scenes. Read More...
Women in the Congress Overtime
Women Serving in the 114th Senate 2014-2015
Total Senate: 100 (53D, 45R, 2I)
Total Women in Senate: 20 (14D, 6R)
Total Women in Senate: 20 (14D, 6R)
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