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Republican women are especially underrepresented
Republican women are less represented in elected office than Democratic women. Of the 25 women currently serving in the U.S. Senate, only eight, or 32 percent, are Republicans. Of the 102 women in the U.S. House of Representatives, only 13, or 12.7 percent, are Republicans.
No third party women hold any congressional offices.
This discrepancy holds true on the state level as well, although the contrast between seats held by Democrats and Republicans is less stark. Of the 2,133 women in state legislatures, 67.8 percent are Democrats, 31.2 percent are Republicans, 0.2 percent are third party, and 0.7 percent are nonpartisan.
The more extreme underrepresentation of Republican women relative to Democratic women mirrors, but exaggerates, the habits of registered voters. Fifty-four percent of registered women voters identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, compared to 38% Republican. Eight percent of registered women voters (and registered voters overall) have no partisan lean, meaning this group is dramatically underrepresented in elected office.
One of the best ways to challenge our partisan divide and bring more Republican women into elected office is the implementation of Fair Representation Voting. Fair Representation Voting combines the use of multi-member elective districts and ranked choice voting to create less polarized, and thus less partisan, electoral outcomes. This allows for our government to better represent our population, making it fairer for all Americans.