Women Lose Ground in State Houses

By Katie Ziegler

(Video added on 11/09/10)

As we wait for a handful of races across the country to be certified, or find out if they are headed for recounts, it looks as though 2011 will have fewer women in statehouses than 2010.

Preliminary analysis shows there will be at least 1,719 women serving in state legislatures, for a ratio of just over 23 percent of all legislators. This is less than the 2010 session’s all-time high of 1,808 women. The proportion of legislators who are female reached 20 percent following the 1992 election (hailed as the “Year of the Woman”), and has climbed slowly with every election since then. Until Tuesday, that is.

Mirroring the national trend of big gains for the GOP, the number of Republican women increased for the first time in at least a decade. Following the 2008 elections, 70 percent of all female legislators were Democrats, and 30 percent were Republicans. In 2011, that split will be closer to 62 percent Democrats, 38 percent Republicans.

 

So, for state legislatures, 2010 wasn’t the second Year of the Woman that national pundits predicted. The number of women in Congress held steady,with the partisan makeup shifting slightly, but no net increase. Political scientists agree that women win their races at the same rates as men, all things considered (such as running as an incumbent or as a challenger, or running for an open seat). The reason, then, that the number of female legislators hasn’t grown more substantially over the years is that women aren’t choosing to run.

National groups are already working hard to recruit women to run in the 2012 elections, to take advantage of open seats created by redistricting. We’ll be watching to see what happens!

Comments

[Mart Martin]

I disagree that "women lost ground in congress." Women will occupy the same number of seats in the new 112th congress as they held in the 111th: Senate 17, House 74. (76 'different' women served in the 111th: 2 arrived after the others, plus two departed.) The only difference in the 112th is in makeup of female-held seats. One GOP female senator will join, and one Democratic senator will not return. The house was near the same. Nine new GOP women will enter and ten Democratic women depart. One additional Democratic woman won a formerly male seat, so the female caucus size remains the same. The added diversity of views on the female side, plus a Hispanic female GOP member simply sweeten the female house stew. No, women gained in congress; their numbers just didn't increase. Expect one or two to make their way in later during the 112th's term.

[Katie Ziegler]

Thanks, Mart! You are of course correct. I drafted that post at a time when some races weren't finalized and it looked as though the numbers could go the other way. We'll make the correction.