Women in Elective Office 2017

Congress
105
(78D, 27R)
19.6% of 535 seats

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was the first woman Speaker of the House, is now minority leader.

U.S. Senate
21
(16D, 5R)
21% of 100 seats
U.S. House
84
(62D, 22R)
19.3% of 435 seats
U.S. Delegate
5
(3D, 2R)

U.S. Delegates are non-voting members and are not included in our total counts.

Statewide Elective Executive
71
(27D, 43R, 1NP)
22.9% of 310 seats
Governor
6
(2D, 4R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Kate Brown D 2015-2022 Oregon
Mary Fallin R 2011-2018 Oklahoma
Kay E. Ivey R 2017-present Alabama
Susana Martinez R 2011-2018 New Mexico
Gina M. Raimondo D 2015-2021 Rhode Island
Kimberly Reynolds R 2017-present Iowa
Lieutenant Governor
12
(5D, 7R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Suzanne Crouch R 2017-present Indiana
Kimberly M. Guadagno R 2010-2017 New Jersey
Bethany A. Hall-Long D 2017-present Delaware
Jenean Hampton R 2016-2019 Kentucky
Kathy C. Hochul D 2015-2021 New York
Rebecca Kleefisch R 2011-2018 Wisconsin
Donna Lynne D 2016-2018 Colorado
Karyn E. Polito R 2015-2022 Massachusetts
Evelyn Sanguinetti R 2015-2018 Illinois
Tina Smith D/DFL 2015-2017 Minnesota
Mary Taylor R 2011-2018 Ohio
Nancy Wyman D 2011-2018 Connecticut
Other Statewide Elective Executive
53
(20D, 32R, 1NP)
Position Democrat Republican Non-Partisan Total
Secretary of State 6 6 - 12
Attorney General 4 3 - 7
State Treasurer 4 4 - 8
State Auditor 6 4 - 10
Agriculture Commissioner - - - 0
Commissioner of Lands 1 - - 1
Commissioner of Labor - 1 - 1
Public Service Commissioner - 2 - 2
Superintendent of Public Instruction - 7 1 8
State Comptroller 2 - - 2
Corporation Commissioner - 1 - 1
Insurance Commissioner - - - 0
Public Utilities Commissioner - 1 - 1
Railroad Commissioner - 1 - 1
State Legislature
1,853
(1,123D, 705R, 14NP, 6Ind, 5Prg)
25.1% of 7,383 seats

Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

NP = non-partisan, Ind = Independent, Prg = Progressive

State Senate
448
(257D, 176R, 14NP, 1Ind)
22.7% of 1,972 seats
State House/Assembly
1,405
(866D, 529R, 5Ind, 5Prg)
26% of 5,411 seats
Top 10 States
  • Arizona (40.0%) 
  • Vermont (40.0%)
  • Nevada (39.7%) 
  • Washington (37.4%)
  • Colorado (37.0%)
  • Illinois (35.0%)
  • Maine (33.9%)
  • Oregon (33.3%)
  • Minnesota (32.3%)
  • Maryland (31.9%)
Bottom 10 States
  • Wyoming (11.1%)
  • Oklahoma (13.4%)
  • West Virginia (13.4%)
  • South Carolina (14.1%)
  • Mississippi (14.9%)
  • Alabama (15.0%)
  • Louisiana (15.3%)
  • Tennessee (15.9%)
  • Kentucky (16.7%)
  • North Dakota (18.4%)
Mayors – Cities over 30,000
286
21% of 1,362 seats

Population data from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and officeholder data from the Center for American Women and Politics as of September 2017.

Mayors – 100 Most Populous Cities
22
22% of 100 seats

Of the 22 women mayors in the top 100 most populous cities as of December 2017, 6 are Black women, 1 is Latina, and 2 are Asian American/Pacific Islander women.

 

Current Mayors of the 100 Most Populous Cities
City Mayor Rank Race/Ethnicity
San Francisco, CA London Breed (acting) 15 Black
Fort Worth, TX Betsy Price 16 White
Charlotte, NC Vi Alexander Lyles 20 Black
Washington, DC Muriel Bowser 24 Black
Nashville, TN Megan Barry 25 White
Baltimore, MD Catherine Pugh 26 Black
Seattle, WA Jenny Durkan 28 White
Las Vegas, NV Carolyn Goodman 32 White
Omaha, NE Jean Stothert 42 White
Raleigh, NC Nancy McFarlane 45 White
Oakland, CA Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf 49 White
Minneapolis, MN Betsy Hodges 50 White
Bakersfield, CA Karen K. Goh 53 Asian American/Pacific Islander
Islip, NY Angie M. Carpenter 57 White
St. Louis, MO Lyda Krewson 60 White
Toledo, OH Paula Hicks-Hudson 69 Black
Henderson, NV Debra March 71 White
Greensboro, NC Nancy Vaughan 73 White
Chula Vista, CA Mary Casillas Salas 82 Latina
Baton Rouge, LA Sharon Weston Broome 90 Black
Reno, NV Hillary Schieve 93 White
Fremont, CA Lily Mei 98 Asian American/Pacific Islander
Percentages of Women in Elective Office 1971-Present

Table below provides data on women as a percentage of women officeholders at the congressional, statewide elective executive, and state legislative levels from 1971 to present. All but present counts reflect levels of women’s representation at the end of that calendar year.

Year U.S. Congress Statewide Elective Statewide Legislatures
1971 3.0% 7.0% N/A
1973 3.0% 8.0% N/A
1975 4.0% 10.0% 8.0%
1977 4.0% 10.0% 9.0%
1979 3.0% 11.0% 10.0%
1981 4.0% 11.0% 12.0%
1983 4.0% 11.0% 13.0%
1985 5.0% 14.0% 15.0%
1987 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1989 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1991 6.0% 18.0% 18.0%
1993 10.1% 22.2% 20.5%
1995 10.3% 25.9% 20.6%
1997 11.0% 25.4% 21.6%
1999 12.1% 27.6% 22.4%
2001 13.6% 27.6% 22.4%
2003 13.6% 26.0% 22.4%
2005 15.0% 25.7% 22.4%
2007 16.1% 24.1% 23.5%
2009 16.8% 22.6% 24.3%
2011 16.8% 22.1% 23.7%
2012 16.8% 23.4% 23.7%
2013 18.5% 23.0% 24.2%
2014 18.7% 23.0% 24.3%
2015 19.4% 24.8% 24.6%
2016 19.6% 24.1% 24.5%
2017 19.6% 22.8% 25.1%