State of Women's Representation 2013, USA
Nearly 100 years ago, American women gained the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. This victory came after a decades-long struggle to amend the U.S. Constitution so that women could never be barred from the polls on the basis of gender. Finally, American women were able to participate in the political process their forbearers had fought so bravely to protect.
In many ways, the vision of the suffrage movement has been realized. For more than two decades, more women have registered to vote than men, and women's voter turnout has exceeded that of men in every presidential and midterm election. Most recently, 7.8 million more women than men voted in the 2012 presidential election.
But despite women's robust participation in the electoral process, women's representation at all levels of American government remains startingly low. What was once a slow but steady advance at the state and national level has almost completely stalled. There are currently only five female governors in office, and only 12 of our nation's 100 largest cities have female mayors (women make up 17.4% of mayors in cities with populations exceeding 30,000). Women comprise only 18.3% of Congress and 24.2% of state legislators. The United States lags behind 91 nations for its share of women in the national legislature - a steep decline from its ranking of 58th in 1998. We must do better.
The report is the first in what will be an annual report heading toward 2020, the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment. The State of Women's Representation 2013 summarizes and analyzes women’s representation in all fifty states, and develops and monitors indicators of changes for each of the six areas of the 2020 Pledge.
We invite you to read the full document published by Representation 2020
Nearly 100 years ago, American women gained the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. This victory came after a decades-long struggle to amend the U.S. Constitution so that women could never be barred from the polls on the basis of gender. Finally, American women were able to participate in the political process their forbearers had fought so bravely to protect.
In many ways, the vision of the suffrage movement has been realized. For more than two decades, more women have registered to vote than men, and women's voter turnout has exceeded that of men in every presidential and midterm election. Most recently, 7.8 million more women than men voted in the 2012 presidential election.
But despite women's robust participation in the electoral process, women's representation at all levels of American government remains startingly low. What was once a slow but steady advance at the state and national level has almost completely stalled. There are currently only five female governors in office, and only 12 of our nation's 100 largest cities have female mayors (women make up 17.4% of mayors in cities with populations exceeding 30,000). Women comprise only 18.3% of Congress and 24.2% of state legislators. The United States lags behind 91 nations for its share of women in the national legislature - a steep decline from its ranking of 58th in 1998. We must do better.
The report is the first in what will be an annual report heading toward 2020, the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment. The State of Women's Representation 2013 summarizes and analyzes women’s representation in all fifty states, and develops and monitors indicators of changes for each of the six areas of the 2020 Pledge.
We invite you to read the full document published by Representation 2020
