Two local state representatives know that as women in the male-dominated Pennsylvania legislature, they need to be on their A-game all the time.

There’s no easy way around it: Women are vastly underrepresented in elected and appointed political positions. According to research from RepresentWomen, a nonpartisan initiative committed to achieving gender parity in office, the U.S. has fewer women in legislative positions than in 98 other countries in the world. Things aren’t much better on the domestic front, either. According to the group’s 2018 Gender Parity Index Report, women have progressed less than 40% down the road to equal representation, a figure that’s slowed in recent years.

The United States has fallen behind most established democracies with respect to women’s representation in politics. Women remain underrepresented at the federal, state, and local levels. The current uptick in women running for office, while encouraging, is unlikely to close this gender gap. To accelerate the pace of progress, U.S. reformers could learn from European experiences and push for measures that tackle broader institutional barriers to equal political representation.

Pennsylvania ranks second-to-last out of all 50 states — ahead of only Mississippi — in electing women to representative positions in government, according to an organization called Representation2020. The Maryland-based initiative ranked every state in the U.S. this year and gave the commonwealth an F, with a “gender parity” score of 6.5 out of a goal of 50 points.

U.S. Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today introduced the Fair Representation Act, a bill which would enact a series of measures designed to reform congressional elections. “The Fair Representation Act is designed to restore the faith which so many Americans have lost in our political system,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “This bill would ensure that every voter has their voice represented in Congress, and make real progress towards bipartisan focus on getting results for the American people.” Rep. Beyer was joined by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), co-leads on the bill, as well as speakers from FairVote and Third Way. “The Fair Representation Act is the most comprehensive approach to improving congressional elections in American history,” said Rob Richie, the executive director of FairVote. “It creates an impartial, national standard that gets at the core of FairVote’s mission: Giving voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans.”

A new study gives South Carolina a “D” grade for gender equality in elected office. That poor grading comes with the Palmetto State ranking 23rd in the nation for gender parity. “Gender parity is defined as the point at which women and men are equally likely to hold elected office in the state,” the study says. The study was put together by Representation 2020, which is part of FairVote, a voting advocacy organization. They looked at gender parity amongst elected officials in all 50 states, giving each a score between zero and 100 with 50 meaning a state has reached gender parity in elected office. South Carolina scored 20. Among the reasons given for the low score and grade are the fact that the Palmetto State has no women elected to Congress and that only one woman holds any of the eight statewide offices, that being Molly Spearman, superintendent of education.

A recent study released by Representation2020, a group that advocates for reforms in the recruitment process, voting systems, and legislative practices so that more women would enter public office, suggests that the big picture hasn’t changed much, with the federal government dominated by mostly men. According to the gender parity index, or GPI, which rates women’s electoral success at the local, state, and national levels, the 2017 report finds that women are underrepresented across the board. Since the Northern Mariana Islands is not a state, it did not get a formal gender parity score, but the GPI Report still tracks their progress toward parity. “Unfortunately, their progress is only marginal. The Islands have never elected a female delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives or a female governor,” a statement from Representation2020 said.

As the Northern Mariana Islands do not have statehood, they did not receive a formal Gender Parity Score, but the GPI Report still tracks their progress toward parity. Unfortunately, their progress is only marginal. The Islands have never elected a female delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives or a female governor. Furthermore, just one of nine seats in the Northern Mariana Islands’ Senate and two of 20 seats in the territory’s House of Representatives are held by women.

A national group that seeks gender parity in politics gives Utah an "F" grade for how many women it elects. Representation2020 ranks Utah 46th among the 50 states for women's representation. It is one of 33 states that received a grade of "D" or "F" in the group's latest rankings, released this week. The group uses a "gender parity index" that rates women's electoral success on a scale of 0 (no women in major elected office) to 100 (women hold all such offices). It said its goal of gender parity is a score of 50 and an A grade. Utah received a score of 9.5, about half the national average score of 18.6.

Representation2020, a nonprofit that advocates for institutional reforms to level the playing field for women candidates, enabling them to run, win, serve, and lead effectively, has released its latest analysis on the underrepresentation of women in elected office, quantified through the Gender Parity Index (GPI). The GPI rates women’s recent electoral success at the local, state, and national levels, and the 2017 report finds that women are underrepresented at all levels of government. According to the group, as of June 2017, the median Gender Parity Score is 18.6 out of 100, barely up from the 2015 score of 18.1. The GPI ranks New Hampshire first and Mississippi last in women’s political representation. Out of all 50 states, 33 have a Gender Parity Score below 25, giving them a grade of D or F.