For the first time in Colorado, women will represent a majority of state legislators. new mexico But women’s representation declined in at least 13 states after the November election, according to a tally released Thursday by the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.
Women will occupy a record number of jobs, but state legislative seats In 2025, the overall increase is expected to be small, with about a third of parliamentary seats filled. Races are still being called in some states.
“We certainly would like to see faster rates of change and larger increases from election cycle to election cycle so that parity in state legislatures becomes more of the norm rather than something new,” said Kelly Dittmar, research director at CAWP. ” he said. It is a division of Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics.
As of Wednesday, at least 2,450 women will serve in state legislatures, accounting for 33.2% of seats nationwide. The previous record was set in 2024 with 2,431 women, according to CAWP.
The number of Republican women in Congress will now be at least 851, breaking the previous record of 815 women in the state House of Representatives, set in 2024.
“Yet Republican women are vastly underrepresented compared to Democratic women,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh.
States with women in Congress
According to CAWP, the latest count shows 19 states will increase the number of women in their state legislatures. The most notable increases will be in New Mexico and Colorado, which will have a majority of women in their legislatures for the first time.
In New Mexico, voters sent 11 more women to the chamber. Colorado previously had a goal of achieving gender parity in 2023, but is expected to move to a slightly female majority next year.
followed by the state nevadaAfter the 2018 election, women held a majority in Congress for the first time in the United States. Next year, nearly 62% of Nevada’s state legislators will be women, far more than equal.
In 2025, women will hold a majority in the California Senate for the first time. South Dakota also saw a notable increase in women, with the total number increasing by at least nine people.
States that lost female representatives
At least 13 states had fewer women in Congress this election than before, with the steepest loss occurring in South Carolina.
Earlier this year, there were only three Republican women in the South Carolina Senate. lost in the primary After they blocked the passage of a complete anti-abortion bill. Next year, there will be only two women Democrats in the 46-member Senate.
According to CAWP, no state in the country has fewer female senators. Women make up 55% of the state’s registered voters.
Half of the representatives in Republican-majority states were elected before 2012, so it could be the 2040s before future elected Republican women are able to advance to House leadership or committee chairs. In the House of Representatives, leadership positions are awarded on the basis of seniority. .
A net loss of five women would mean that only about 13% of South Carolina’s legislators would be women, making South Carolina the second-lowest number of women in the nation. only west virginia The proportion of women in parliament is low.
West Virginia is expected to lose one more woman to its House of Representatives, leaving just 11% of its members female, further exacerbating its representation problem in Congress.
why is it important
Many women, lawmakers and experts say women’s voices need to be heard in policy discussions, especially at a time when state government is at its most powerful in decades.
CAWP Director Walsh said the new changes expected from the Trump administration will shift policies and regulations even further to the states. She said the experiences and perspectives women offer will be increasingly needed, especially in topics related to reproductive rights, health care, education and society. childcare.
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“States may have to pick up where the federal government is actually retreating,” Walsh said. “So who serves in these institutions is more important than ever.”
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