New Jersey, Virginia Make Gains in CAWP State Rankings for Women’s Representation in Legislatures

Following the 2021 election, both New Jersey and Virginia made significant gains in the Center for American Women and Politics’ (CAWP) ranking of states by women’s representation in state legislatures. Newly compiled data from CAWP, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, shows New Jersey moving up by nine spots in our state rankings, while Virginia moved up seven spots. These gains also contributed to a very slight increase in women’s total share of state legislative seats around the country; women now hold 31.3% of these seats, up from 31.1% in 2021. Women hold less than one-third of all state legislative seats, as they do at every level of office we study, from Congress to municipalities. See how your state ranks at our Women in State Legislatures 2022 fact sheet and find more historical context and current data on your state at our State-by-State Information interactive map.

“Watching these two states in the isolation of an off-year election helps us see the truth in the adage — when women run, women win. Women made clear gains in both New Jersey and Virginia,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh. “We’re celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, and that offers us the opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come. When we were founded, less than 5% of state legislative seats were held by women; today, more than 30% are. We’re still, though, a long way from parity, and we’re determined that it won’t take another fifty years to get there.”

New Jersey moved from the 26th spot in our state rankings to the 17th following the 2021 election, and women now hold 34.2% of seats in the state legislature. Women picked up 5 seats in the New Jersey Assembly, but lost 1 Senate seat, for a net gain of 4 seats from 2021 to 2022. Women now hold 41 seats in the New Jersey Legislature, 31 in the Assembly, and 10 in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Virginia moved from the 28th spot to the 21st, and women now hold 33.6% of seats in the Virginia General Assembly (the state’s full legislature). Women gained 4 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates (the state’s lower chamber) in the 2021 election and an additional seat in a special election in January to fill a vacancy, for a net increase of 5 seats in 2022 compared to 2021. The Virginia Senate did not have elections in 2021. Women now hold 47 seats in the General Assembly, 36 in the House of Delegates, and 11 in the Senate.

The overall state rankings remain largely unchanged in 2022, with both the top 10 and bottom 10 states identical to 2021, with the small caveat that Washington State moved out of an 8th place tie with Arizona and into the 9th position. The top 10 and bottom 10 states for women’s share of total state legislative seats are:

Nevada remains the only state where women hold more than half of all state legislative seats. For more information about women in state legislatures, visit our Women in State Legislatures 2022 fact sheet.