When I take my seat on the floor of the California State Assembly, I do so surrounded by 79 other chairs. And of those 80 chairs—women sit in 24 of them.
Just 24 out of 80. 30%. In CA. In 2020.
This is simply not enough.
If we believe #RepresentationMatters, we must do better.
Nationally, we do an even worse job of ensuring women of color are represented in state legislatures.
There are 2,142 women state legislators. Just 538—25.1%—are women of color.
Women of color constitute just 7.3% of state legislators in America.
Unfortunately, lack of gender parity in legislatures is a global issue. A recent study released by the Council on Foreign Relations looked at legislatures in 193 countries. Just four have women in at least 50% of their legislature’s seats—4 of 193—2.1%.
The US ranks 76th—women make up 24% of Congress.
Fortunately, “women around the world are running for office in unprecedented numbers—and winning.”
With greater gender parity, legislatures are more likely to:
- find common ground
- make investments in education and health
- advance equality
Originally posted on Twitter. Re-posted with permission.