United States of America

Although the 2020 presidential cycle remains in its initial stages, the race for the White House is expected to draw an historic number of women candidates — with many already having taken steps towards running and others rumored to be considering campaigns.

As of the end of January, women accounted for half of the expected 2020 Democratic field, or four out of the eight major party candidates who had formally announced campaigns or launched presidential exploratory committees.

When the 116th Congress was sworn into office on Thursday, the class made history as the most diverse group ever with a record 127 women.

Among those women was 32-year-old Democrat Lauren Underwood, who etched her name in the history book as the youngest black woman to be elected to Congress.

Senator Kamala Harris, the California Democrat and barrier-breaking prosecutor who became the second black woman to serve in the United States Senate, declared her candidacy for president on Monday, joining an increasingly crowded and diverse field in what promises to be a wide-open nomination process.