Race
Race
While all women are underrepresented in elected office, women of color face additional barriers.
infogram_0_woc_comparison-51Demographic Divide - Racehttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?l8wtext/javascript
Women of color make up 19 percent of the U.S. population, but only make up:
- 9.5% of voting members of Congress
- 2.0% of governors
- 7.5% of state legislators
- 10.0% of mayors in 100 largest cities
infogram_0_e873cd1d-c6f1-426c-9e8f-29b863ceae3aBreakdown WOC In 117th Congresshttps://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?zHJtext/javascript
The degree to which women of color are underrepresented makes it harder to increase their representation because of the huge advantage that incumbent candidates have over challengers in the majority of elections.
There is hope for the representation of women of color moving forward. In January 2021, the 117th Congress will feature an all time high for women of color's representation, with 51 women of color serving across the House and the Senate. This upward trajectory is great news for our national progress towards gender parity; but, progress remains slow and incremental.
Check out our Milestones page to learn more about women breaking barriers throughout history.
Check out the Center for American Women and Politics to learn more about elected women of color.
