Important News And Information
Copyright 2013 Nicole Brown Old Dominion University Sociology of Women
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Gender Disparities In
Politics
For centuries
women have been fighting for rights that are equal to that of men. While
women have come a long way from the days of being unable to vote or particpate
in government affiars and politics, there are still many
inequalities that women face. One of the biggest issues
regarding gender inequality is the underrepresentation of women in politics.
Although education levels and rates of participation in the work
force among women have increased, there is still a disproportionate
number of women holding office in national and state politics. In the
U.S. women are roughly 51 percent of the population and women on constitute
about 17 percent of Congress (Knight, 2009). This is rather low number considering not only
how much of the population that women make up but also the fact that women make
up 46 percent of the work force and 55 percent of tertiary students (Paxton et. al, 2003). With
qualifications that are equal to that of the men in the U.S. why is that women
are still underrepresented in politics as a whole? While there is no one answer
to explain this phenomenon, many studies have been conducted to explain the
gender disparities in politics.
Women In Politics: Issues with Gender Disparities
Women in Elective
Office
State
Rankings for Percentage of Women in State
Legislatures
Colorado has the highest percent of women in its state legislature in comparison to the other fifty states. Colorado's state legislature is made up of 41 percent women.
Lousianna has the lowest percent of women in its state legislature with only 11 percent.
Virginia ranked about 33 out of 50 for the percentage of women in its state legislature.
Organizations Dedicated to Equal Representation in Politics for Women
State Rankings for Women as Governors
There are six states that currently have women as Governors: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Twenty- three of the fifty states have never had a women governor. Among those are Virgina, Florida, New York, and California.
State Rankings for Women in Congress
There are three states that have never had a women in Congress: Vermont, Mississippi, and Iowa.
Wisconsin is the only state that currently has a women in Congress but previously did not
Virginia currently has no women in Congress but has had women in Congress in the past.