Legislators Want Fair Salaries (and We Want More "Sheroes" In Office)

Below is an excerpt from Arianna Conte's Legislators Want Fair Salaries (and We Want More "Sheroes" In Office), published on September 5, 2024 in Democracy Notes:

The decision to run for state legislature is not easy — especially for women. Complicating factors like finding childcare, managing unpredictable hours, balancing time commitments, weighing concerns about physical and emotional safety, and more are all top of mind for women looking to take public office across the party spectrum. Serving your community as an elected official is a permanent lifestyle change, regardless of whether the legislature is part-time or full-time.

Another complicating factor for women running for office is low state legislator salaries, which vary nationwide. For example, California pays its state legislators $140,000, while New Mexico doesn’t pay a standard salary at all, only per diems. In 18 states, legislators can’t get a pay increase without passing a bill or asking voters to sign a ballot measure approving an increase. Even worse, pay adjustments often don’t occur regularly, meaning they rarely account for factors such as inflation or public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “perennial pay problem,” as we call it in “,” determines who runs for and stays in office. The pay problem is by no means new, but what’s clear is the financial cost of becoming an elected official is exponentially more challenging for women. Women are over half the population but only 33% of state legislators, and routinely consider salary when deciding whether to run for office or reelection.

Read the complete article here.

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