Nevada’s legislature is the first to accurately reflect the gender demographics of the state, with a female majority in both upper and lower houses. However, women still only make up 28% of state legislators overall, with some states having as little as 15% female representation. Only nine states have female governors, and the first women were elected to a state legislature in Colorado in 1894. Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first female governor in 1925 in Wyoming.
Politicians are supposed to represent the people, so it might seem logical that there are at least as many female lawmakers as there are male lawmakers. After all, there are about 5 million more women than men in the United States. But it wasn’t until 2019 that a state legislature accurately mirrored those demographics. Taking both upper and lower houses into consideration, Nevada’s bicameral legislature has more women than men, with 32 of its 63 legislators (50.8 percent) being female. In the Colorado General Assembly, the lower house also has a female majority, but the overall legislature is still dominated by men. In general, the trend toward more female lawmakers is growing, but women are still far from having an equal footing in most states. As of 2018, just 28% of state legislators were women, with some states — Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and West Virginia — far behind, with just 15% of their state legislators being female.
The long road to the Statehouse:
As of 2019, only nine of the 50 U.S. states are led by female governors.
In 1894, Colorado became the first U.S. state to elect women to the state legislature—three Republican women served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1895 to 1896.
In 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state, when she was elected to replace her late husband in Wyoming.
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