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The incredibly poor gender diversity of elected state officials in the U.S., in 7 maps and charts

Data and Statistics

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July 2, 2014

The incredibly poor gender diversity of elected state officials in the U.S., in 7 maps and charts

South Carolina’s Senate is the nation’s least gender-diverse legislative chamber, with just 2 percent representation, according to data from theCenter for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics. Of the 45 members (one seat is vacant), just one —Sen. Katrina Frye Shealy (R) — is a woman.

The South Carolina Senate is an extreme example, but no state can claim gender parity in its state legislature or any of its chambers. The closest are the House chambers in Colorado and Vermont or the Senate in Arizona, with women making up 43 percent of each body.

Resource type
Publisher
Washington Post
Publication year
2014

South Carolina’s Senate is the nation’s least gender-diverse legislative chamber, with just 2 percent representation, according to data from theCenter for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics. Of the 45 members (one seat is vacant), just one —Sen. Katrina Frye Shealy (R) — is a woman.

The South Carolina Senate is an extreme example, but no state can claim gender parity in its state legislature or any of its chambers. The closest are the House chambers in Colorado and Vermont or the Senate in Arizona, with women making up 43 percent of each body.

Resource type
Publisher
Washington Post
Publication year
2014