United States of America

On November 6, 125 women were elected to the House, Senate, and governorships. This week, they assume power. Here's what they plan on doing with it.

It’s been 20 years, but Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton still remembers the cigar smoke. During her first year as a Nevada state senator in 1999, she heard about a meeting happening in her committee chairman’s office without her. So she and a female lobbyist walked in through the side door and found a handful of men sitting around the conference table.

Although the 2020 presidential cycle remains in its initial stages, the race for the White House is expected to draw an historic number of women candidates — with many already having taken steps towards running and others rumored to be considering campaigns.

As of the end of January, women accounted for half of the expected 2020 Democratic field, or four out of the eight major party candidates who had formally announced campaigns or launched presidential exploratory committees.

When the 116th Congress was sworn into office on Thursday, the class made history as the most diverse group ever with a record 127 women.

Among those women was 32-year-old Democrat Lauren Underwood, who etched her name in the history book as the youngest black woman to be elected to Congress.