Women of Color in Elective Office 2021
Congress, Statewide, State Legislature, Mayors
For information on the history of women of color in elective office click here.
Kamala Harris (D) currently serves as Vice President. She is the first woman of color, the first Black person, and the first South Asian person elected to this office.
Of the 143 women serving in the 117th U.S. Congress, 49, or 34.3%, are women of color; in addition, a Black woman, a Latina, an Asian Pacific Islander, and a Caribbean American woman serve as Delegates to the House from Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, respectively. Women of color constitute 9.2% of the total 535 members of Congress. The record high for women of color serving in Congress was 52, set between January 3, 2021, and January 18, 2021.
U.S. Senate (3)
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
U.S. House (46)
Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC)
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Val Demings (D-FL)
Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Robin L. Kelly (D-IL)
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL)
Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)
Rep. Nanette Baragan (D-CA)
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Rep. Teresa Leger (D-MN)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Maria E. Salazar (R-FL)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
Rep. Young Kim (R-CA)
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA)
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS)
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) (Latina, White)
Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) (Black, Asian Pacific Islander)
U.S. House Delegates (4)
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Del. Jenniffer Gonzalez (R-PR)
Del. Amata Radewagen (R-AS)
Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)
Of the 95 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, 18, or 18.9%, are women of color. Women of color constitute 5.8% of the total 310 statewide elective executives. The record high for women of color serving in statewide elective executive office was 19, set between April 14, 2021 and July 5, 2021.
|
5
|
Black (5D)
|
7
|
Latina (5D, 2R)
|
3
|
Asian Pacific Islander(2D, 1R)
|
|
Tish James (D-NY), Attorney General |
Stephanie Garcia Richard (D-NM), Land Commissoner |
Fiona Ma (D-CA), Treasurer Betty Yee (D-CA), State Controller Kimberly Yee (R-AZ), Treasurer |
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|
1
|
Native American/Alaska Native (1D)
|
2
|
Multiracial (2D)
|
||
| Peggy Flanagan (D-MN), Lt. Governor |
Kathleen McGuiness (D-DE), Auditor (Multiracial) Sabina Matos (D-RI), Lt. Governor (Black, Latina) |
Women of color are 26.5% of the 2,288 women state legislators serving nationwide. They constitute 8.2% of the total 7,383 state legislators. In addition, there are 31 women of color serving in the legislatures of the U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and on the D.C. City Council. The record high for women of color serving in state legislatures was 607, set between June 22, 2021 and June 30, 2021.
25 Republicans, 1 NP, 1 Progressive
| Senate | House | Total* | ||||||||||||
| D | R | Other | Total | D | R | Other | Total | D | R | Other | Total | |||
| Black | 80 | 1 | - | 81 | 258 | 2 | - | 260 | 338 | 3 | - | 341 | ||
| Asian Pacific Islander | 15 | - | - | 15 | 36 | 3 | - | 39 | 51 | 3 | - | 54 | ||
| Latina | 36 | 4 | - | 40 | 87 | 7 | - | 94 | 123 | 11 | - | 134 | ||
| Middle Eastern/North African | 1 | - | - | 1 | 5 | - | - | 5 | 6 | - | - | 6 | ||
| Native American/Alaska Native | 5 | 1 | - | 6 | 15 | 2 | - | 17 | 20 | 3 | 23 | |||
| Multi-Racial | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 39 | 5 | 2 | 46 | ||
| Totals | 145 | 7 | 1 | 153 | 433 | 18 | 1 | 452 | 578 | 25 | 2 | 605 | ||
| *Adding up all categories does not equal the total number of women of color because there is a legislator who is a woman of color but did not wish to be included in the above categories. This figure does not include ten legislators whose race/ethnicity we could not confirm. | ||||||||||||||
In 2021, twenty-two women of color serve in state legislative leadership:
| Black | Latina |
| Gloria Butler (D-GA), Senate Minority Leader | Adrienne Benavidez (D-CO), House Speaker Pro Tem |
| Karen Camper (D-TN), House Minority Leader | Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-NV), House Majority Leader |
| Melony Griffith (D-MD), Senate President Pro Tem | Minnie Gonzalez (D-CT), House Speaker Pro Tem |
| Charniele Herring (D-VA), House Majority Leader | Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-CA), House Majority Leader |
| Adrienne Jones (D-MD), House Speaker | Rebeccas Rios (D-AZ), Senate Minority Leader |
| Kimberly Lightford (D-IL), Senate Majority Leader | M. Teresa Ruiz (D-NJ), Senate President Pro Tem |
| Louise Lucas (D-VA), Senate President Pro Tem | Asian Pacific Islander |
| Joanna E. McClinton (D-PA), House Minority Leader | Della Au Bellatti (D-HI), House Majority Leader |
| Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (D-NY), House Majority Leader | |
| Sheree L. Sample-Hughes (D-MD), House Speaker Pro Tem | |
| Sheryl W. Stapleton (D-NM), House Majority Leader | Multi-Racial |
| Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY), Senate President Pro Tem/Majority Leader | Michelle Kidani (D-HI), Senate President Pro Tem (Asian Pacific Islander, Latina) |
| Emilia Sykes (D-OH), House Minority Leader | Val Okimoto (R-HI), House Minority Leader (Asian Pacific Islander, White) |
Women of color serve in every state.
- Black women serve in 42 states, all except AZ, HI, ID, MT, NE, SD, ND, VT.
- Asian Pacific Islander women serve in 22 states; CA, CT, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NH, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI.
- Latina women serve in 25 states; AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL GA, IL, KS, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, RI, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY.
- Middle Eastern/North African women serve in 5 states; CO, FL, MD, NH, NY.
- Native American/Alaska Native women serve in 12 states; AK, AZ, KS, MN, MS, MT, ND, NM, OR, SD, WA, WY.
- Multi-Racial women serve in 21 states; AR, AZ, HI, ID, IL, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NE, NM, NV, NY, OK, RI, TX, VA, VT, WA.
In the nation's 100 largest cities, fourteen women of color currently serve as mayors:
| Black | Latina |
|---|---|
| Muriel Bowser (D), Washington, DC, 2015-present | Mary Casillas Salas (D*), Chula Vista, CA, 2015-present |
| Vi Alexander Lyles (D), Charlotte, NC, 2017-present | Regina Romero (D), Tucson, AZ, 2019-present |
| Keisha Lance Bottoms (D*), Atlanta, GA, 2018-present | Paulette M. Guajardo (D), Corpus Christi, TX, 2021-present |
| LaToya Cantrell (D), New Orleans, LA, 2018-present | |
| London Breed (D*), San Francisco, CA, 2018-present | Asian Pacific Islander |
| Lori Lightfoot (D*), Chicago, IL, 2019-present | Lily Mei (D*), Fremont, CA, 2016-present |
| Kim Janey (D), Boston, MA, 2021-present, acting | Karen K. Goh (R*), Bakersfield, CA, 2017-present |
| Tishaura Jones (D*), St. Louis, MO, 2021-present | Farrah Khan (D*), Irvine, CA, 2020-present |
*Elected in nonpartisan races.