But that may mistakenly lead folks to conclude women have made more progress in politics than they actually have. According to FairVote’s Representation 2020 project, it will take 500 years for women to reach parity with men in elected office in America. Some states have never elected a woman to Congress or the governor’s mansion. And that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Radio interview with Cynthia Terrell

Women in Elected Office Cynthia Terrell talked about Representation 2020's report, The State of Women’s Representation 2015-2016: A Blueprint for Reaching Gender Parity, which shows women are underrepresented in national, state, and local-level elected offices. She also examined possible solutions to achieve parity. She responded to telephone calls and electronic communications, including a telephone line reserved for female legislators.

Women make up 50.8% of the population in the United States, but only 19% of Congress. Do we still live in a representative democracy if women are not being equally represented? It is easy to advertise these statistics and demand change, but if you have no actual plan to achieve gender parity, then your quest may be in vain. Representation 2020 seeks to present a plan...

Electoral success for female politicians in the state of Georgia is rare, a recent study found. Georgia received the second lowest score out of 50 states for its lack of female success in local, state and national elections, according to a study conducted by Representation2020 on the ratio of men to women in elected positions.

Once a leader in the number of women elected to office, Kansas is now in the middle of the pack for gender parity, according to a recent report. Representation2020, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, gives a gender parity score to each state. Kansas received 18.6 this year, placing it 24th overall nationwide. Last year, it was ranked 14th nationwide.

At Sue Minter’s gubernatorial campaign kickoff earlier this week, former Gov. Madeleine Kunin – an early supporter of Minter’s and the only woman to hold the post – gestured with her hand as if she was holding a torch.

Without Title IX, women athletes would not have had the opportunities that they do today. We need a similar movement for women candidates. Nearly a century after gaining national suffrage rights, American women represent a majority of voters, yet women represent less than a quarter of state legislators, a fifth of members of Congress, and an eighth of governors.

The United States ranks 94th and Canada 60th in the world for female representation because less than 20 percent of Congressional seats and only a quarter of parliamentary seats are held by women. Of Oregon’s seven Congressional members, only one is a woman.