Women in politics in the U.S. - statistics & facts
A record number of women were elected to federal and state office in the 2022 midterm elections, making the 118th Congress the most diverse in U.S. history. Women have been historically under-represented in the halls of power in the United States, and while significant progress has been made in the last decades, the U.S. trails behind many similarly developed and less developed nations. As of 2023, the U.S. was outranked by 42 other countries in the global Gender Parity Index - an index that benchmarks national gender gaps on political, economic, and social criteria. Countries including Moldova, Rwanda, Namibia, and Sweden all out-ranked the United States, with Iceland topping the index.
In 2023, the share of women in the U.S. Congress increased to 27.9 percent - the highest share ever recorded, but some experts say that at the current rate, it will take more than 80 years to reach gender parity in the country’s legislative body.
Ultimately no female candidate in 2020 was successful, but Kamala Harris went on to become Joe Biden’s pick for Vice President and assumed office in January 2021, as the first ever woman in the role, and the highest-ranking woman in the country. Additionally, the Biden administration appointed women to nearly half of Cabinet positions in 2021, the highest share ever.
The presidential glass ceiling is yet to be shattered for women in the United States, but a 2024 poll found that 94 percent of Americans would be willing to vote for a woman for president . Despite the slow growth of women’s representation in government, more than 90 percent of Americans across all age groups are optimistic that there will be a female president within the current decade.
In the same year, women occupied 28.5 percent of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. This is a sharp increase from 2017 when the share of women in the House was 19.1 percent. Of the 124 women in the 2023 sitting of the House, 91 belong to the Democratic Party and 33 to the Republican Party. From 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023, Nancy Pelosi , served in the role of Speaker of the House - the first ever woman to hold the position.
While the 2020 elections saw the number of Republican women in the House double, women are more underrepresented in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party . In the 118th Congress, there were 33 Republican women to the Democrats 91 women. The Republican Party has historically struggled to get as many women on the ballot as the Democratic Party. In 2018 for example, 356 Democratic women ran for a seat in the House of Representatives compared with 120 Republican women. This gap has reduced in recent years with 322 Democratic women and 261 Republican women running in 2022, but there is still progress to be made.
In 2023, the share of women in the U.S. Congress increased to 27.9 percent - the highest share ever recorded, but some experts say that at the current rate, it will take more than 80 years to reach gender parity in the country’s legislative body.
Madame President?
Famously, a woman has never held the title of President of the United States. Hillary Clinton came closest at the 2016, becoming the first women to win a presidential nomination by a major political party. Clinton ultimately lost to Donald Trump at the presidential election. After Clinton’s historic defeat, seven women ran for the top job in 2020 – the highest number of women ever to run president, and more than three times as many as in 2024.Ultimately no female candidate in 2020 was successful, but Kamala Harris went on to become Joe Biden’s pick for Vice President and assumed office in January 2021, as the first ever woman in the role, and the highest-ranking woman in the country. Additionally, the Biden administration appointed women to nearly half of Cabinet positions in 2021, the highest share ever.
The presidential glass ceiling is yet to be shattered for women in the United States, but a 2024 poll found that 94 percent of Americans would be willing to vote for a woman for president . Despite the slow growth of women’s representation in government, more than 90 percent of Americans across all age groups are optimistic that there will be a female president within the current decade.
Gender in Congress
Women make up slightly more than half of the U.S. inhabitants, and just over a quarter of Congress in 2023. In the Senate, 25 of the 100 members were women in 2023, which has been the case since 2019. Of the women in the 2023 Senate, 15 belong to the Democratic Party, and nine to the Republican, with one Independent.In the same year, women occupied 28.5 percent of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. This is a sharp increase from 2017 when the share of women in the House was 19.1 percent. Of the 124 women in the 2023 sitting of the House, 91 belong to the Democratic Party and 33 to the Republican Party. From 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023, Nancy Pelosi , served in the role of Speaker of the House - the first ever woman to hold the position.
While the 2020 elections saw the number of Republican women in the House double, women are more underrepresented in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party . In the 118th Congress, there were 33 Republican women to the Democrats 91 women. The Republican Party has historically struggled to get as many women on the ballot as the Democratic Party. In 2018 for example, 356 Democratic women ran for a seat in the House of Representatives compared with 120 Republican women. This gap has reduced in recent years with 322 Democratic women and 261 Republican women running in 2022, but there is still progress to be made.
