Congress: The U.S. House of Representatives
Women in the House
In 2022, 121 Women serve in the 117th Congress as members of the House of Representatives, up from 102 women in 2019. Out of a total of 435 Congressional seats in 2022, these 121 women are 27.8% of the total.
121 out of 435 = 27.8%
Combined with the 24/100 US Senators who are women, the 2020 Congress is 27.1% female. [Additionally, women non-voting delegates represent the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.]
Demographics of the 117th Congress:
Only 36 states have female Congressional representatives.
These 121 women represent 36 of the 50 states. 14 US states have no female representation in Congress.
3 out of every 4 women in Congress is a Democrat. Still, Republicans are electing more women every year.
90 of the current Representatives are Democrats (an increase of 1 since 2019) and 31 are Republicans (up from just 13 in 2019 – an increase of 138% in just 3 years).
Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives take their oath of office on the floor of the House Chamber during the first session of the 117th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington Jan. 3, 2021. (CNS/Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
The Congressional women tend to be diverse.
49 identify as women of color, including 26 African-Americans, 8 Asian & Pacific Islanders, 13 Latinas, and one Native American
The House is led by a woman – Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Nancy Pelosi being sworn in as Speaker of the House, ‘regaining the gavel’, on January 3rd, 2019, surrounded by children and grandchildren of lawmakers. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP.)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) serves as the Speaker of the House, and therefore is second in the line of succession for the Presidency. Speaker Pelosi is the first woman to serve in this position, and one of only seven speakers in history to “regain the gavel,” or, in other words, to be reelected by their caucus to the position in non-consecutive terms.
According to The Washington Post, in January 2019: “Rep. Nancy Pelosi reclaimed the House speakership on Thursday in a historic comeback for the first female speaker, securing her place as the most powerful woman in American politics.”
Historically, women have held 3.3% of House seats.
Historically (current and past office holders), women have held 349 seats in the US House of Representatives, out of 10,421 total – or 3.3%. Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first female elected Congressperson, elected in 1916, four years prior to women earning the national right to vote.
What will it take for women to get into the Power Percentage – 50 out of 100 Senators – of the Senate of the United States?