State Legislative Leadership
Current Numbers:
Data as of June 2025
Leadership positions include: senate presidents and presidents pro tempore; house speakers and speakers pro tempore; majority and minority leaders of the senate and house as listed on each state legislature’s website. When the position of senate president is filled by the lieutenant governor, it is not included in these totals.
Total Number of Women in State Legislature Leadership
Women hold leadership positions in 37 state senates and in 33 state houses; in 6 states, women do not hold leadership positions in either chamber.
State Senate
State House/Assembly
Asian American/Pacific Islander
Black*
Latina
White
Women who self-identify as more than one race/ethnicity are included on CAWP pages for each group with which they identify. We strongly caution against adding totals from each racial/ethnic group should, as it will double count officeholders.
*In New York, the senate president also serves as the senate majority leader. As a result, Andrea Stewart-Cousins is counted twice here.
States with the Highest Percentages of Women in Leadership Positions
- Nevada (71.4%)
Vermont (66.7%)
Ohio (62.5%)
New York (57.1%)
Colorado (50.0%)
- Hawaii (50.0%)
Idaho (50.0%)
Illinois (50.0%)
New Hampshire (50.0%)
New Mexico (50.0%)
Of the top states for women leaders, CO, IL, NM, NV, and VT also rank in the top ten for the percentages of women serving in their legislatures.
Six states have no women (0%) in leadership positions: AL, AR, MS, NE, SC, TX.
Of the worst states for women leaders, AL, AR, MS, and SC ranked among the ten states with the lowest percentages of women in their state legislatures.
History of Leadership Positions
The first woman senate president was Vesta Roy (R-NH). The first woman to serve as speaker of a state house was Minnie Davenport Craig (R-ND).
State senator Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) was the first woman of color and the first Asian American/Pacific Islander woman to lead either chamber of a state legislature; she served as Hawaii's senate president from 2007-2011. Sara Gideon was the first Asian American/Pacific Islander to serve as a house speaker, serving from 2017 to 2020. Karen Bass (D-CA) was the first woman of color and first Black woman to serve as a house speaker, leading California's Assembly from 2008-2010. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY) was the first Black woman to lead a state senate, serving as senate president pro tem from 2019 to today. Margarita Prentice (D-WA) was the first Latina to lead a senate chamber, serving as senate president pro tem from 2011 to 2012. Crisanta Duran (D-CO) was the first Latina to serve as a house speaker, serving from 2017 to 2019. In 2013, Tina Kotek (D-OR) became the country's first openly lesbian state house speaker, she served until her election to governor in 2022.
Women in Senate Leadership
Senate President
(3D, 3R)
24% of 25 positions
Senate President Pro Tempore
(10D, 3R)
29.5% of 44 positions
Senate Majority Leader
(11D, 7R)
39.1% of 46 positions
Senate Minority Leader
(15D, 2R)
37% of 46 positions
List of Women Senate Leaders
Footnotes
In 24 states, president pro tempore is the top leadership post held by a senator, the lieutenant governor serves as senate president (AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, GA, ID, IN, MI, MS, MO, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, PA, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA).
*In New York, the Senate President also serves as the Senate Majority Leader.
Women in House Leadership
Speaker of the House
(8D, 1R)
18% of 50 positions
House Speaker Pro Tempore
(6D, 5R)
25.6% of 43 positions
House Majority Leader
(9D, 1R)
22.2% of 45 positions
House Minority Leader
(13D, 7R)
43.5% of 46 positions
List of Women House Leaders
Footnote
*In CT and MN there are multiple speakers pro tempore.
Women in State Legislative Leadership Summary by State
Footnote
Rank is for leadership positions only and is based on combined Senate and House figures. States with the exact same percentages are given the same rank; states with no women in leadership positions share the rank of 44.