Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

September 26, 2013 – October 13, 2022 R43244

Women in Congress:
October 13, 2022
Statistics and Brief Overview
Jennifer E. Manning
As of October 12, 2022, 151 women are serving in the 117th Congress. There are 127 women
Senior Research Librarian
serving in the House (including 3 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), 93 Democrats and

34 Republicans. There are 24 women in the Senate, 16 Democrats and 8 Republicans.
Ida A. Brudnick
Specialist on the Congress
Initially, on the first day of the 117th Congress, there were 148 women. Since then, this number

has fluctuated as two House Members resigned; one House Member died; eight House Members
took their respective oaths of office, including one in each of February 2021, April 2021, June

2021, November 2021, and January 2022, two in June 2022, and one in September 2022; one
Senator resigned; and one Senator’s appointed term expired.
These 148 women initially sworn in at the beginning of the 117th Congress surpassed the 130 women that were serving at the
close of the 116th Congress. The number of women serving during the 116th Congress also fluctuated: a then-record 131
women were initially sworn in; one woman in the House subsequently resigned; and two women were appointed to the
Senate with one of these two Senate appointments expiring before the end of the Congress.
The very first woman elected to Congress was Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT, served 1917-1919 and 1941-1943).
The first woman to serve in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA, appointed and served for only one day in 1922).
The first woman elected to a six-year Senate term was Hattie Caraway (D-AR, served 1931-1945), and she was also the first
Senator to succeed her spouse.
In total, 400 women have been elected or appointed to Congress. Of these
 260 women were Democrats and 140 Republicans;
 342 (224 Democrats, 118 Republicans) women have been elected only to the House;
 41 (25 Democrats, 16 Republicans) women have been elected or appointed only to the Senate;
 17 (11 Democrats, 6 Republicans) women have served in both chambers;
 52 African American women have served in Congress (2 in the Senate, 50 in the House), including 28
serving in the 117th Congress;
 16 Asian Pacific American women have served in Congress (13 in the House, 1 in the Senate, and 2 in both
the House and Senate), including 11 in the 117th Congress;
 24 Hispanic women have served in Congress (1 in the Senate), including 17 in the 117th Congress;
 4 American Indian or Alaska Native women have served in the House, 3 of whom are currently serving;
and
 7 women have served in the House representing territories and properties possessed or administered by the
United States but not admitted to statehood. These include one delegate from Guam, Hawaii (pre-
statehood), the District of Columbia, and American Samoa; two delegates from the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
one Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
In the 117th Congress, 12 women serve as committee chairs. This includes 8 women in the House (7 standing committees and
1 select committee) and 4 in the Senate (all standing committees). Two of these women, one in each chamber, also chair a
joint committee related to their service as chair of a House or Senate standing committee.
This report includes historical information, including the number of women in Congress over time; means of entry to
Congress; comparisons to international and state legislatures; records for tenure; firsts for women in Congress; women in
leadership; tallies of African American, Asian Pacific American, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native women in
Congress; and a brief overview of research questions related to the role and impact of women in Congress. The Appendix
provides details on the total number of women who have served in each Congress, including information on changes within a
Congress. Due to this turnover during a Congress, the text, tables, and notes throughout the report provide details on time
periods used for the tallies and the currency of the information.
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Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

For additional biographical information—including the committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and
state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 400 women who have been elected or appointed to Congress—
see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2022: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and
Lists by State and Congress, by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick.

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Appendixes
Appendix. Total Number of Women Who Served in Each Congress ............................................ 17

Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 20

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Introduction
Since 1917, when Jeannette Rankin became the first woman sworn in as a Member of Congress, a
total of 400 women have been elected or appointed to serve in the U.S. Congress.
Table 1 details this service by women in the House, Senate, and both chambers.1
Table 1. Women Members of Congress: Summary Statistics, 1917-Present
(Inclusive through October 12, 2022)
House
Service
Women
House
Only
House
Who
Senate
Service
(Delegates and
Service
Served in
Total
Service
Only
Resident
Only
Both

Women
Only
(Representatives)
Commissioner)
(Subtotal) Chambers
Total
400a
41
335
7a
342a
17
Democrats
260
25
220
4
224
11
Republicans
140
16
115
3
118
6
Source: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian and Office of Art and Archives, “Women in Congress,”
http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress/.
Notes: The House and Senate totals each include one woman who was elected but never sworn in.
a. The total number of female Members of the House includes one Delegate to the House of Representatives
from Hawaii prior to statehood; one from the District of Columbia, Guam, and American Samoa; and two
from the U.S. Virgin Islands. The total number also includes one Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
The 117th Congress began with 148 women.2 Table 2 shows that women currently account for3
 27.5% of voting Members in the House and Senate (147 of 535);
 27.9% of total Members in the House and Senate (151 of 541, including the
Delegates and Resident Commissioner);
 28.3% of voting Representatives in the House (123 of 435);

1 Throughout this report, House and Senate totals each include one woman elected but not sworn in or seated due to the
House or Senate being out of session. Both women are included in various official congressional publications,
including, for example, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (http://bioguide.congress.gov),
“Women in Congress” (http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress); and “Senators
of the United States 1789-present: a chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789,” maintained by the
Senate Historical Office (http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/chronlist.pdf).
2 One additional woman was sworn into the House in the months of February 2021 (after a delay in the certification of
her election), April 2021, June 2021, November 2021, January 2022, two in June 2022, and one in September 2022.
The term of one appointed female Senator expired in January 2021, and another female Senator resigned in January
2021 to become Vice President of the United States. Two female House Members resigned in March 2021 to become
Cabinet Secretaries. One female House Member died in August 2022.
3 As stated in CRS Report R40170, Parliamentary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner from Puerto
Rico, by Jane A. Hudiburg, the “delegates and the resident commissioner may not vote in, or preside over, the House.”
The report further explains rules in force during the 117th, 116th, 111th, 110th, and 103rd Congresses related to the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union. For the purposes of this report, voting refers to voting in the
House.
Percentages in this report are calculated using total potential membership and do not reflect vacancies.
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 28.8% of total Members in the House (127 of 441, including the Delegates and
Resident Commissioner); and
 24.0% of the Senate.
Table 2. Number of Women Members of the 117th Congress
(As of October 12, 2022)
Nonvoting
Members
House Subtotal
(Delegates and
(Representatives
Total
Resident
and Nonvoting

Women
Senators
Representatives
Commissioner)
Members)
Total
151
24
123
4
127
Democrats
109
16
91
2
93
Republicans
42
8
32
2
34
Source: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian and Office of Art and Archives, “Women in Congress,”
http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress/.
Notes: The 117th Congress began with 148 women in the House and Senate. One woman was sworn into the
House in February 2021, another in April 2021, another in June 2021, another in November 2021, another in
January 2022, two in June 2022, and another in September 2022. Two House Members resigned in March 2021
to become Cabinet Secretaries. One House Member died in August 2022.
The term of one appointed female Senator expired in January 2021, and another female Senator resigned in
January 2021 to become Vice President of the United States.
Three of the women who serve in the House are Delegates, representing the District of Columbia, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. One woman serves as the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
Information in this table is current as of the date of the report.
This report includes historical information, including the (1) number and percentage of women in
Congress over time; (2) means of entry to Congress; (3) comparisons to international and state
legislatures; (4) records for tenure; (5) firsts for women in Congress; (6) number of African
American, Asian Pacific, Hispanic American, and American Indian women in Congress; and (7)
women in leadership. It also provides a brief overview of research questions related to the role
and impact of women in Congress.
For additional biographical information—including the names, committee assignments, dates of
service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the
women who have served in Congress—see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-
2022: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress, by
Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick
Since the 65th Congress (1917-1918), the number of women serving in Congress generally
increased incrementally, and on a few occasions, decreased. In an exception to these incremental
changes, the elections in 1992, which came to be known popularly as the “Year of the Woman,”
represented a jump in the number of women in Congress.4 At the close of the 102nd Congress
(1991-1992), the number of women serving was 34, and, as a result of the 1992 election, on the
first day of the 103rd Congress (1993-1994) the number of women in Congress increased 58.8%
to 54 women.5 More recently, the 115th Congress concluded with 115 women, and on the first day

4 The Year of the Woman: Myths and Realities, ed. Elizabeth Adell Cook, Sue Thomas, and Clyde Wilcox (Boulder,
CO: Westview Press, 1994).
5 The 102nd Congress final-day total includes three women who were not present at the start of the Congress (one
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of the 116th Congress, the number of women in Congress increased 13.9%, to 131 women.6 Most
recently, the 116th Congress concluded with 130 women, and on the first day of the 117th
Congress the number of women in Congress increased 13.8% to 148 women.7
Figure 1 shows the changes in the number of women serving in each Congress. For a table listing
the total number of women who have served in each Congress, including information on turnover
within a Congress, please see Table A-2 in the Appendix.
Figure 1. Number of Women by Congress: 1917-2021
(Including turnover, except data for the 117th Congress are for the beginning of the Congress)

Source: Figure compiled by CRS, based on http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-
Congress/.
Notes: Including any Representatives, Delegates, and Resident Commissioners who served only a portion of the
Congress. For details on turnover, see notes accompanying Table A-1.
Figure 2 shows division of men and women in Congress historically and in the 117th Congress.

House Member and one Senator elected to fill a vacancy and one Senator appointed to fill a vacancy). The 103rd
Congress first-day total does not include one woman who was not present at the start of the Congress (a Senator who
was elected to fill a vacancy).
6 The 115th Congress final-day total includes seven women who were not present at the start of the Congress (five
House Members who were elected to fill a vacancy and two Senators who were appointed to fill a vacancy) and one
House Member who resigned on December 31, 2018. It excludes one House Member who died in office during the
Congress.
7 The 116th Congress final-day total includes one woman who was not present at the start of the Congress (a Senator
appointed to fill a vacancy). It excludes one House Member who resigned in November 2019, and one Senator whose
appointed term ended in December 2020.
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Figure 2. Women as a Percentage of Total Members Since 1789 and
in the 117th Congress
(As of the beginning of the 117th Congress)

Source: House of Representatives, Total Members of the House and State Representation, update as of January 21,
2021, http://history.house.gov/Institution/Total-Members/Total-Members/. This states, “Since the U.S. Congress
convened on March 4, 1789, 12,415 individuals have served as Representatives, Senators, or in both capacities.
There have been 10,421 Members who served only as Representatives, 1,314 Members who served only in the
Senate, and 680 Members with service in both chambers. The total number of Representatives (including
individuals serving in both bodies) is 11,101.” See also Senate Historical Office, Senators of the United States, 1789-
present, at http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/chronlist.pdf. This information is updated
once per Congress.
Notes: The House and Senate totals each include one woman who was elected but never sworn in. Delegates
and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico are not included in the data. As stated above, the data are as
of January 3, 2021.
As seen in Figure 3, 49 states (all except Vermont),8 4 territories (American Samoa, Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and the District of Columbia have been represented by
a woman in Congress at some time since 1917.9
Three states (Mississippi, North Dakota, and Vermont) have never elected a woman to the House.
Seventeen states have never been represented by a female Senator. Fourteen states have been
represented by one female Senator, 13 have sent two, and 6 states have sent three.

8 Vermont, however, ranks among the top 10 states for percentage of women in state government. For additional
information, see this report’s “State-House Perspective” section and https://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-state-legislature-
2021.
9 Totals include one woman from South Carolina (House) and one woman from South Dakota (Senate) elected but
never sworn in due to the House or Senate being out of session.
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Figure 3. Number of Women in the House and Senate by State, District, or Territory,
1917-Present
(Inclusive through October 12, 2022; numbers include Delegates and the Resident Commissioner)

Source: CRS summary, based on House of Representatives, Women in Congress, available at
http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress/.
Notes: The 17 women who have served in both the House and Senate are counted in each tally. Also counted
are one woman from South Carolina (House) and one woman from South Dakota (Senate) who were elected
but never sworn in due to the House or Senate being out of session.
How Women Enter Congress: Regular Elections,
Special Elections, and Appointments
Pursuant to Article I, Section 2, clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution, all Representatives enter office
through election, even those who enter after a seat becomes open during a Congress.10 By
contrast, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified on April 8, 1913,
gives state legislatures the option to empower governors to fill Senate vacancies by temporary
appointment.11

10 “[W]hen vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of
Election to fill such Vacancies.” Article I, Section 2, clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution.
11 Prior to the ratification of this amendment, Senators were chosen pursuant to Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution.
For additional information, see Direct Election of Senators, at http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/
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The 58 women who have served in the Senate entered initially through three different routes:
 35 entered through regularly scheduled elections,
 18 were appointed to unexpired terms, and
 5 were elected by special election.12
As Figure 4 shows, approximately 70% (40) of all women who have served in the Senate initially
entered Senate service by winning an election (regular or special). Approximately 30% of women
Senators entered the Senate initially through an appointment. Of the 18 women who entered by
appointment, 10 served less than one year.
Since the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1913, nine years prior
to the first appointment of a woman to fill a Senate vacancy, 202 Senators have been appointed.13
Of these appointees, 91.1% (184) have been men, and 8.9% (18) were women.14
Figure 4. Women’s Initial Entrance to the Senate: Regular Elections, Special
Elections, and Appointments to Unexpired Terms
(Inclusive through January 6, 2021)

Source: Figure compiled by CRS based on descriptions in the Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress (http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp).

briefing/Direct_Election_Senators.htm.
12 This includes one woman who was elected but never sworn in.
13 “Appointed Senators” list available at http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/
senators_appointed.htm.
14 Total number of Senators since January 1, 1913, was derived from the Senate’s “Senators of the United States 1789-
present: A chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789,” available at http://www.senate.gov/
artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/chronlist.pdf. Senators are listed by date of initial service. Members who served
nonconsecutive terms are counted once.
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Women in Congress as Compared with Women in
Other Legislative Bodies
International Perspective
The current total percentage of voting female representation in Congress (26.9%) is slightly
higher than averages of female representation in other countries. According to the Inter-
Parliamentary Union (IPU), as of January 1, 2021, women represented 25.6% of national
legislative seats (both houses) across the entire world. In the IPU database of worldwide female
representation, the United States ties for 67th worldwide for women in the lower chamber. The
Nordic countries (Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, and Norway) lead the world regionally
with 44.5% female representation in national legislatures.15
State-House Perspective
The percentage of women in Congress is lower than the percentage of women holding seats in
state legislatures. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, in 2021, 2,299, or
31.1%, of the 7,383 state legislators in the United States are women. Women currently hold 561,
or 28.4%, of the 1,972 state senate seats and 1,738, or 32.1%, of the 5,411 state house or
assembly seats.16 Across the 50 states, the total seats held by women range from 13.4% in West
Virginia to 58.7% in Nevada.17
Since the beginning of the 92nd Congress (1971-1972), the first Congress for which comparative
state legislature data are available,18 the total percentage of women in state legislatures has
eclipsed the percentage of women in Congress. The greatest disparity between the percentages of
female voting representation in state legislatures as compared with Congress occurred in the early
1990s, when women comprised 6.0% of the total Congress in the 102nd Congress (1991-1992),
but 18.3% of state legislatures in 1991. The gap has since narrowed.
Female Election Firsts in Congress
 First woman elected to Congress. Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT,
1917-1919, 1941-1943).
 First woman to serve in the Senate. Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA) was
appointed in 1922 to fill the unexpired term of a Senator who had died in office.

15 Inter-Parliamentary Union, Global and Regional Averages of Women in National Parliaments, as of December 1,
2020, at https://data.ipu.org/women-averages. See also the archive of historical data at http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/
world-arc.htm. These data will be updated once per Congress. For statistics on women serving in the national
legislatures of 192 countries, see the IPU chart at https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking; see also, Frank C. Thames and
Margaret S. Williams, Contagious Representation: Women’s Political Representation in Democracies around the
World (New York University Press: New York, 2013).
16 Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), “Women in State Legislatures 2021,” 2021, Eagleton Institute of
Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/levels-office/state-legislature/women-state-
legislatures-2021 (Accessed December 22, 2021).
17 Ibid.
18 The Center for American Women and Politics provides data for state legislatures for odd-numbered years.
Congressional data show the maximum number of women elected or appointed to serve in a Congress at one time
during that Congress.
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In addition to being the first female Senator, Mrs. Felton holds two other Senate
records. Her tenure in the Senate remains the shortest ever (one day), and, at the
age of 87, she is the oldest person ever to begin Senate service.
 First woman to succeed her spouse in the Senate and also the first female
initially elected to a full six-year term. Hattie Caraway (D-AR, 1931-1945) was
first appointed in 1931 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband,
Thaddeus H. Caraway (D-AR, House, 1913-1921; Senate, 1921-1931), and then
was subsequently elected to two six-year terms.
 First woman elected to the Senate without having first been appointed to
serve in that body and first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) was elected to the Senate and served from
January 3, 1949, until January 3, 1973. She had previously served in the House
(June 3, 1940, to January 3, 1949).
 First woman elected to the Senate without first having been elected to the
House or having been elected or appointed to fill an unexpired Senate term.
Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS, 1979-1997).
 First woman elected Speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) served as
Speaker of the House in the 110th and 111th Congresses (2007-2010), and again in
the 116th and 117th Congresses.
 First woman to serve as President of the Senate. As Vice President of the
United States (2021-present), Kamala Harris (D-CA) also serves as President of
the Senate.
Records for Length of Service
 Longest total length of service by a woman in Congress. Senator Barbara
Mikulski (D-MD), who served from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 2017, holds
this record (40 years, 10 of which were spent in the House). On March 17, 2012,
Senator Mikulski surpassed the record previously held by Representative Edith
Nourse Rogers (R-MA).
 Longest length of service by a woman in the House. On March 18, 2018,
currently serving Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) surpassed the record
previously held by Representative Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA). Representative
Kaptur has been serving in the House since January 3, 1983 (approximately 39
years). Representative Rogers served in the House for 35 years, from June 25,
1925, until her death on September 10, 1960.
 Longest length of service by a woman in the Senate. Senator Barbara Mikulski
also holds the record for length of Senate service by a woman (30 years). In
January 2011, she broke the service record previously held by Senator Margaret
Chase Smith (R-ME), who served 24 years in the Senate and 8.6 years in the
House.
Women Who Have Served in Both Houses
Seventeen women have served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) was the first such woman, as well as the first woman elected to
the Senate without first having been elected or appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat. She was first
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elected to the House to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband (Clyde Smith, R-ME,
1937-1940), and she served from June 10, 1940, until January 3, 1949, when she began her
Senate service. She served in the Senate until January 3, 1973.
African American Women in Congress
Twenty-eight African American women serve in the 117thth Congress, including 2 Delegates, a
record number. The 117th Congress began with 28 African American women, but one Senator
resigned in January 2021 to become Vice President of the United States, one Representative
resigned to become a Cabinet Secretary, one Representative arrived in a November 2021 special
election, and another in a January 2022 special election.
A total of 52 African American women have served in Congress.19 The first was Representative
Shirley Chisholm (D-NY, 1969-1983). Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL, 1993-1999) was the
first African American woman to have served in the Senate. The African American women
Members of the 117th Congress are listed in Table 3.
Table 3. African American Women in the 117th Congress
(All are House Members)
Alma Adams (D-NC)
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Lauren Underwood (D-IL)
Karen Bass (D-CA)
(D-TX)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
Robin Kelly (D-IL)
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Brenda Lawrence (D-MI)
(D-NJ)
Shontel Brown (D-OH)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Nikema Wil iams (D-GA)
Cori Bush (D-MO)
Lucy McBath (D-GA)
Frederica Wilson (D-FL)
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Eleanor Holmes Norton
(D-FL)
Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
(D-DC) [Delegate]
Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)
Val Demings (D-FL)
[Delegate]
Terri Sewell (D-AL)
Jahana Hayes (D-CT)
Marilyn Strickland (D-WA)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Source: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/
WIC/Historical-Data/Historical-Data—Nav/.
Notes: Rep. Marilyn Strickland is also Asian Pacific American, and she is counted in both categories. The 117th
Congress began with one African American woman Senator, Kamala Harris; she resigned in January 2021 to
become Vice President of the United States. In March 2021, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) resigned to become a
Cabinet Secretary, and was replaced by Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) in November 2021. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-
McCormick (D-FL) was sworn in in January 2022.

19 This number includes one former Senator, Kamala Harris, and one House Member, Marilyn Strickland, who are both
of African American and Asian ancestry. In this report, these two Members are counted as belonging to two ethnic
groups. For additional information, see U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, Black Americans in Congress, at
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Black-Americans-in-Congress/, and Asian and Pacific
Islander Americans in Congress, at http://history.house.gov/apa/.
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Asian Pacific American Women in Congress
Eleven Asian Pacific American women, a record number, serve in the 117th Congress.20 Patsy
Mink (D-HI), who served in the House from 1965 to 1977 and again from 1990 to 2002, was the
first of 16 Asian Pacific American women to serve in Congress. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) is the first
Asian Pacific American woman to serve in both the House and Senate.
Table 4. Asian Pacific American Women in the 117th Congress
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Judy Chu (D-CA)
Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
Michelle Steel (R-CA)
Young Kim (R-CA)
Marilyn Strickland (D-WA)
Doris O. Matsui (D-CA)
Aumua Amata Coleman
Radewagen (R-AS) [Delegate]
Grace Meng (D-NY)
Source: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/
WIC/Historical-Data/Women-of-Color-in-Congress/ and http://history.house.gov/apa/.
Notes: Rep. Marilyn Strickland is also African American, and she is counted in both categories. The 117th
Congress began with one more Asian American woman Senator, Kamala Harris; she resigned in January 2021 to
become Vice President of the United States. AS = American Samoa.
Hispanic Women in Congress
Twenty-four Hispanic or Latino women have served in Congress, all but one in the House, and 17
of them, a record number, serve in the 117th Congress. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL,
1989-2018) was the first Hispanic woman to serve in Congress, and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-
NV, 2017-present) is the first Hispanic woman Senator.21
Table 5. Hispanic Women in the 117th Congress
(All are House Members except for Senator Cortez Masto)
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Grace Flores Napolitano (D-CA)
Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
(D-NV)
Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)
Norma Torres (D-CA)
Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA)
Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY)
Lori Trahan (D-MA)
Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
Mayra Flores (R-TX)
Lucil e Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Jenniffer González-Colon (R-PR)
Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)
Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL)
[Resident Commissioner]
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Source: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, at http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/
WIC/Historical-Data/Women-of-Color-in-Congress/.

20 This number includes one former Senator, Kamala Harris, and one House Member, Marilyn Strickland, who are both
of African American and Asian ancestry. In this report, these two Members are counted as belonging to two ethnic
groups.
21 For additional information, see U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, Hispanic Americans in Congress, at
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Hispanic-Americans-in-Congress/.
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American Indian and Alaska Native (Native
American) Women in Congress
Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Deb Haaland (D-NM), both first elected to the 116th
Congress, were the first female enrolled members of federally recognized tribes to serve in
Congress.
They were reelected to the 117th Congress and were joined by Representative Yvette Herrell (R-
NM). In September 2022, Mary Peltola (D-AK), the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, was
sworn into the House. Representative Haaland resigned in March 2021 to become Secretary of
the Interior.
Women Who Have Served in Party Leadership
Positions22
A number of women in Congress, listed in Table 6, have held positions in their party’s
leadership.23 Current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is second in the line of
succession for the presidency. She also served as Speaker in the 110th, 111th, and 116th
Congresses. In the 108th, 109th, and 112th-115th Congresses, she was elected the House Democratic
leader. Previously, Representative Pelosi was elected House Democratic whip, in the 107th
Congress, on October 10, 2001, effective January 15, 2002. She was also the first woman
nominated to be Speaker of the House. Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME), chair of the
Senate Republican Conference from 1967 to 1972, holds the Senate record for the highest, as well
as first, leadership position held by a female Senator. The first woman Member to be elected to
any party leadership position was Chase Going Woodhouse (D-CT), who served as House
Democratic Caucus Secretary in the 81st Congress (1949-1950).
Table 6. Selected Congressional Party Leadership Positions Held by Women
Position
Member
Congresses
Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
110th-111th, 116th-117th
(2007-2010, 2019-present)
Assistant Speaker
Katherine Clark (D-MA)
117th (2021-present)
House Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
108th-109th, 112th-115th (2003-
2006, 2011-2018)
House Democratic Whip
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
107th (2001-2002)

22 For additional information, refer to CRS Report RL30567, Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2019,
by Valerie Heitshusen. Limited information on the leadership positions held by women in Congress can also be found
inCRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2022: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and
Lists by State and Congress, by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick
23 U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, “Women Elected to Party Leadership Positions, 1949–Present,”
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/Women-Elected-to-Party-Leadership/.
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Position
Member
Congresses
Chief Deputy Democratic Whip
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
117th (2021-present)
Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
117th (2021-present)
Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
114th-115th (2015-2018)
Terri Sewell (D-AL)
113th-117th (2013-present)
Diana DeGette (D-CO)
112th-115th (2011-2018)
Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)
112th-117th (2011-present)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-
112th-117th (2011-present)
FL)

Maxine Waters (D-CA)
106th-110th (1999-2008)
House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair
Katherine Clark (D-MA)
116th (2019-2020)
Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
115th (2017-2018)
Barbara Kennelly (D-CT)
104th-105th (1995-1998)
Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH)
100th (1987-1988)
House Democratic Caucus Secretarya
Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH)
99th (1985-1986)
Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY)
97th-98th (1981-1984)
Shirley Chisholm (D-NY)
95th-96th (1977-1980)
Patsy Mink (D-HI)
94th (1975-1976)
Leonor Kretzer Sul ivan (D-MO)
86th-87th (1959-1962), 88th, 2nd

session-93rd (1964-1974)
Edna Flannery Kelly (D-NY)
83rd-84th (1953-1956), 88th, 1st
session (1963)
Chase Going Woodhouse (D-
CT)
81st (1949-1950)
House Republican Conference Chair
Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
117th (May 2021-present)
Liz Cheney (R-WY)
116th-117th (2019-May 2021)
Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA)
113th-115th (2013-2018)
Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
108th-109th (2003-2006)
House Republican Conference Vice
Lynn Jenkins (R-KS)
113th-114th (2013-2016)
Chair
Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA)
111th-112th (2009-2012)
Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
107th (2001-2002)
Kay Granger (R-TX)
110th (2007-2008)
Til ie Fowler (R-FL)
106th (1999-2000)
Jennifer Dunn (R-WA)
105th (1997-1998)
Susan Molinari (R-NY)
104th-105th (1995-Aug. 1997)
Lynn Martin (R-IL)
99th-100th (1985-1988)
House Republican Conference
Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
113th-114th (2013-2016)
Secretary
Barbara Cubin (R-WY)
107th (2001-2002)
Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
106th (1999-2000)
Barbara Vucanovich (R-NV)
104th (1995-1996)
Senate Republican Conference Chair
Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME)
90th-92nd (1967-1972)
Senate Republican Conference Vice
Joni Ernst (R-IA)
116th-117th (2019-present)
Chairb
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
111th (2009-2010)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
107th-109th (2001-2006)
Assistant Democratic Leader
Patty Murray (D-WA)
116th -117th (2019-present)
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Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

Position
Member
Congresses
Senate Democratic Conference Vice
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
115th-117th (2017-present)
Chair
Senate Democratic Conference
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
115th-117th (2017-present)
Secretary
Patty Murray (D-WA)
110th-114th (2007-2016)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
109th (2005-2006)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
104th-108th (1995-2004)
Senate Chief Deputy Democratic Whip
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
110th-114th (2007-2016)
Sources: U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, “Women in Party Leadership Positions, 1949-Present,”
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/Women-Elected-to-Party-Leadership/;
and CRS Report RL30567, Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2019, by Valerie Heitshusen.
a. The title of this position changed from “Secretary” to “Vice Chair” with the 100th Congress.
b. This position was previously known as the Conference Secretary.
Women and Leadership of Congressional
Committees
As chair of the House Expenditures in the Post Office Department Committee (67th-68th
Congresses), Mae Ella Nolan was the first woman to chair any congressional committee. As chair
of the Senate Enrolled Bills Committee (73rd-78th Congresses), Hattie Caraway was the first
woman to chair a Senate committee. In total
 27 women have chaired a House committee (including select committees);
 15 women have chaired a Senate committee (including select and special
committees);
 2 female Senators have chaired joint committees (one joint select committee, and
two joint committees related to service as chair of the Senate Rules and
Administration Committee);24 and
 4 female Representatives have chaired a joint committee (including one joint
select committee, and two related to service as chair of the Committee on House
Administration).25
In the 117th Congress, women chair seven standing committees in the House, four standing
committees in the Senate, and one select committee in the House. In addition, two women chair
joint committees related to their service on standing committees.

24 For additional information, see CRS Report R46806, Rules Governing Senate Committee and Subcommittee
Assignment Procedures, by Michael Greene.
25 Totals include standing, special, and select committees. Some women have chaired multiple committees. Multiple
sources were consulted for this tally. The sources consulted include “Women Who Have Chaired Congressional
Committees in the U.S. House, 1923-present,” table of the Women in Congress website, at http://history.house.gov/
Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/Women-Chairs-of-Congressional-Committees/; “Women in
Congress: Leadership Roles and Committee Chairs,” at https://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-congress-leadership-
committees; “Chairmen of Senate Standing Committees,” at https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/
pdf/CommitteeChairs.pdf; and the entries for all the women who have served in Congress in the Biographical
Directory of the United States Congress, at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp.
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Table 7. Committees Chaired by Women, 117th Congress
Committee
Chair
House Committee on Appropriations
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
House Committee on Ethics
Susan Wild (D-PA)
House Committee on Financial Services
Maxine Waters (D-FL)
House Committee on House Administration
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
House Committee on Oversight and Reform
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
House Committee on Small Business
Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Transportation
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Joint Committee on Printing
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Joint Committee on the Library
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Sources: “Women Who Have Chaired Congressional Committees in the U.S. House, 1923-Present” table of
the Women in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/
Women-Chairs-of-Congressional-Committees/; and the “Committee Assignments of the 117th Congress”
website at http://www.senate.gov/general/committee_assignments/assignments.htm.
a. Rep. Wild was appointed acting chair of the Committee on Ethics on September 30, 2022. See
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/93022-0.
Pursuant to H.Res. 6 (116th Congress), as continued by H.Res. 8 (117th Congress), the Speaker of
the House appoints members to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. See also
Charles W. Johnson, John V. Sullivan, and Thomas J. Wickham, Jr., House Practice: A Guide to
the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House (Washington: GPO, 2017), p. 241, Chapter 1,
§1.
Women in Congress: Examinations of Their Role
and Impact
As the number of women in Congress has increased in recent decades, and following the large
increase in women following the 1992 elections in particular, numerous studies of Congress have
examined the role and impact of these women.
Central to these studies have been questions about the following:
 The legislative behavior of women in Congress, including whether the legislative
behavior of female Members differs from their male counterparts. For example,
what has the increase in women in Congress meant for descriptive representation
(i.e., when representatives and those represented share demographic
characteristics, such as representation of women by women) and substantive
representation (i.e., representation of policy preferences and a linkage to policy
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Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

outcomes)?26 This also includes examinations of whether women Members
sponsor more “women’s issues bills,”27 or speak more frequently on the House
floor about women.28 These examinations also include questions regarding
whether there are any differences in roll call voting behavior between men and
women Members of Congress, with a comparison of successive Members in the
same district, Members in the same party, Members in similar districts, or in the
chamber overall, or a focus on certain policy areas (e.g., foreign or defense
policy).29
 The “effectiveness” of female legislators, particularly in comparison to male
legislators. These studies have examined bill sponsorship and cosponsorship;
women’s success in shepherding sponsored bills or amendments into law;
committee work; success in securing federal funds; consensus building activities
and efforts to form coalitions; effectiveness while in the majority and minority;
and their impact on the institution overall.30

26 The idea of “representation,” including its forms and variations, has long been debated among political scientists and
political theorists. For a discussion, see Hanna F. Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 1967).
27 Studies characterize “women’s issues” differently, and there is no universally accepted definition. See Beth
Reingold, “Women as Office Holders: Descriptive and Substantive Representation,” paper presented at the Political
Women and American Democracy Conference, University of Notre Dame, May 25-27, 2006, p. 6; and Victoria A.
Rickard, “The Effects of Gender on Winnowing in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Politics & Gender, vol. 12
(2016), pp. 814-816.
28 See, for example, Mary Hawkesworth, Kathleen Casey, Krista Jenkins, and Katherine Kleeman, Legislating By and
For Women: A Comparison of the 103rd and 104th Congresses, Center for American Women and Politics, 2001,
available at http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/research/topics/documents/CongReport103-104.pdf; Kathryn Pearson and
Logan Dancey, “Elevating Women’s Voices in Congress: Speech Participation in the House of Representatives,”
Political Research Quarterly, vol. 64 (December 2011), pp. 910-923; Kathryn Pearson and Logan Dancey, “Speaking
for the Underrepresented in the House of Representatives: Voicing Women’s Interests in a Partisan Era,” Politics &
Gender, vol. 7 (December 2011), pp. 493-519; Kelly Dittmar, Kira Sanbonmatsu, Susan J. Carroll, Debbie Walsh, and
Catherine Wineinger, “Representation Matters: Women in the U.S. Congress,” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for
American Women in Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (2017); Lisa
A. Bryant and Julia Marin Hellwege, “Working Mothers Represent: How Children Affect the Legislative Agenda of
Women in Congress,” American Politics Research, vol. 47, no. 3 (2019), pp. 447-470; and Kelly Dittmar, Kira
Sanbonmatsu, and Susan J. Carroll, A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Presence
Matters (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018).
29 See, for example, Michele L. Swers, The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002); Katherine Cramer Walsh, “Enlarging Representation: Women Bring
Marginalized Perspectives to Floor Debate in the House of Representatives,” in Women Transforming Congress, ed.
Cindy Simon Rosenthal (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002), pp. 370-396; Jessica C. Gerrity, Tracy
Osborn, and Jeannette Morehouse Mendez, “Women and Representation: A Different View of the District?” Politics &
Gender, vol. 3 (June 2007), pp. 179-200; Jennifer Sacco, 2012, “Descriptive Representation of Men and Women in the
110th and 111th Congresses,” paper presented at the Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting,
http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/sacco.pdf; Jocelyn Jones Evans, Women, Partisanship and the Congress (New
York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005); Michele L. Swers, “Are Women More Likely to Vote For Women’s Issue Bills than
Their Male Colleagues?” Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 23 (1995), pp. 435-448; Brian Frederick, “Are Female
House Members Still More Liberal in a Polarized Era? The Conditional Nature of the Relationship Between
Descriptive and Substantive Representation,” Congress & the Presidency, vol. 36 (2009), pp. 181-202; Dennis Simon,
“The Roll Call Behavior of Men and Women in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1937-2008,” Politics & Gender,
vol. 6 (June 2010), pp. 225-246; Brian Frederick, “Gender and Roll Call Voting Behavior in Congress: A Cross-
Chamber Analysis,” The American Review of Politics, vol. 34 (Spring 2013), pp. 1-20; William Bendix and Gyung-Ho
Jeong, “Gender and Foreign Policy: Are Female Members of Congress More Dovish than their Male Colleagues,”
Political Research Quarterly, vol. 73, no. 1 (2020), pp. 126-140; and Mary Layton Atkinson and Jason Harold Windett,
“Gender Stereotypes and the Policy Priorities of Women in Congress,” Political Behavior, vol. 41 (2019), pp. 769-789.
30 See, for example, Cindy Simon Rosenthal, “A View of Their Own: Women’s Committee Leadership Styles and State
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Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

 The path that leads women to run for office, comparative success rates of female
compared with male candidates, and career trajectory once in Congress.31 This
includes professional backgrounds and experience, barriers to entry, and
fundraising;32 the so-called widow effect, in which many women first secured
entry to Congress following the death of a spouse;33 and reelection efforts and
influences on decisions regarding voluntary retirement or pursuing other office.34

Legislatures,” Policy Studies Journal, vol. 25 (1997), pp. 585-600; Noelle Norton, “Transforming Policy from the
Inside: Participation in Committee,” in Women Transforming Congress, ed. Cindy Simon Rosenthal (Norman, OK:
University of Oklahoma Press, 2002), pp. 316-340; Michele L. Swers, The Difference Women Make (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2002); Laura W. Arnold and Barbara M. King, “Women, Committees, and Institutional
Change in the Senate,” in Women Transforming Congress, ed. Cindy Simon Rosenthal (Norman, OK: University of
Oklahoma Press, 2002), pp. 284-315; Alana Jeydel and Andrew J. Taylor, “Are Women Legislators Less Effective?
Evidence from the U.S. House in the 103rd-105th Congress,” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 56 (March 2003), pp.
19-27; Debra Dodson, The Impact of Women in Congress (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006); Sarah Anzia
and Christopher Berry, “The Jackie (and Jill) Robinson Effect: Why Do Congresswomen Outperform Congressmen?”
American Journal of Political Science, vol. 55 (July 2011), pp. 478-493; Craig Volden, Alan Wiseman, and Dana
Wittmer, “When Are Women More Effective Lawmakers Than Men?” American Journal of Political Science, April
2013, pp. 326-341, available at http://batten.virginia.edu/research/when-are-women-more-effective-lawmakers-men;
Stella M. Rouse, Michele L. Swers, and Michael D. Parrott, “Gender, Race, and Coalition Building: Agenda Setting as
a Mechanism for Collaboration Among Minority Groups in Congress,” paper delivered for presentation at the
American Political Science Association Meeting, August 28-September 1, 2013; Tali Mendelberg, Christopher F.
Karpowitz and Nicholas Goedert, “Does Descriptive Representation Facilitate Women’s Distinctive Voice? How
Gender Composition and Decision Rules Affect Deliberation,” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 58, no. 2
(April 2014), pp. 291-306; and Victoria A. Rickard, “The Effects of Gender on Winnowing in the U.S. House of
Representatives,” Politics & Gender, vol. 12 (2016), pp. 807-834.
31 See, for example, Jennifer Lawless and Kathyrn Pearson, “The Primary Reason for Women’s Underrepresentation?
Reevaluating the Conventional Wisdom,” Journal of Politics, vol. 70 (2008), pp. 67-82; Richard L. Fox and Jennifer L.
Lawless, “Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women’s Equality in Electoral
Politics,” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 55, no. 1 (January 2011), pp. 59-73; Kathryn Pearson and Eric
McGhee, “What It Takes to Win: Questioning ‘Gender Neutral’ Outcomes,” Politics & Gender, vol. 9 (2013), pp. 439-
462; Daniell M. Thomsen, “Why So Few (Republican) Women? Explaining the Partisan Imbalance of Women in the
U.S. Congress,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2 (May 2015), pp. 295-423; Kira Sanbonmatsu, “Women’s
Underrepresentation in the U.S. Congress,” Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, vol.
149, no. 1 (2020), pp. 40-55; and Sarina Rhinehart and Michael H. Crespin, “Women in Congress,” in New Directions
in Congressional Politics, ed. Jamie L. Carson and Michael S. Lynch, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, Taylor and
Francis Group, 2020).
32 See, for example, Ashley Baker, “Reexamining the gender implications of campaign finance reform: how higher
ceilings on individual donations disproportionately impact female candidates,” Modern American, vol. 2 (2006), pp.
18-23; Michael H. Crespin and Janna L. Deitz, “If You Can’t Join ‘Em, Beat ‘Em: The Gender Gap in Individual
Donations to Congressional Candidates,” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 3 (September 2010), pp. 581-593;
Karin E. Kitchens and Michele L. Swers, “Why Aren’t There More Republican Women in Congress? Gender,
Partisanship, and Fundraising Support in the 2010 and 2012 Elections,” Politics & Gender, vol. 12 (2016), pp. 648-676.
33 See, for example, Diane D. Kincaid, “Over His Dead Body: A Positive Perspective on Widows in the U.S.
Congress,” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 1 (Mar., 1978), pp. 96-104; Lisa Solowiej and Thomas L.
Brunell, “The Entrance of Women to the U.S. Congress: The Widow Effect,” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 56, no.
3 (September 2003), pp. 283-292; and Danielle Lupton, Sahar Parsa, and Steven Sprick Schuster, “Widows,
Congressional Representation, and the (Ms.)Appropriation of a Name,” unpublished manuscript, November 5, 2017.
34 See, for example, Jennifer L. Lawless and Sean M. Theriault, “Will She Stay or Will She Go? Career Ceilings and
Women’s Retirement from the U.S. Congress,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 30 (November 2005), pp. 581-596;
and Jeffrey Lazarus and Amy Steigerwalt, Gendered Vulnerability: How Women Work Harder to Stay in Office (Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2018).
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House
Nonvoting
Subtotal
Total
Total
Members
(Reps. and
without
with
(Del. and
Nonvoting
Nonvoting
Nonvoting
Congress
Reps.
RC)
Members)
Sens.
Members
Members
93rd (1973-1974)b
16
0
16
0
16
16
94th (1975-1976)
19
0
19
0
19
19
95th (1977-1978)l
18
0
18
3
21
21
96th (1979-1980)m
16
0
16
2
18
18
97th (1981-1982)n
21
0
21
2
23
23
98th (1983-1984)c
22
0
22
2
24
24
99th (1985-1986)c
23
0
23
2
25
25
100th (1987-1988)o
24
0
24
2
26
26
101st (1989-1990)p
29
0
29
2
31
31
102nd (1991-1992)q
29
1
30
4
33
34
103rd (1993-1994)r
47
1
48
7
54
55
104th (1995-1996)k
49
1
50
9
58
59
105th (1997-1998)s
55
2
57
9
64
66
106th (1999-2000)
56
2
58
9
65
67
107th (2001-2002)t
60
2
62
14
74
76
108th (2003-2004)c
60
3
63
14
74
77
109th (2005-2006)u
68
3
71
14
82
85
110th (2007-2008)v
76
3
79
16
92
95
111th (2009-2010)w
76
3
79
17
93
96
112th (2011-2012)x
76
3
79
17
93
96
113th (2013-2014)y
81
3
84
20
101
104
114th (2015-2016)z
85
4
89
20
105
109
115th (2017-2018)aa
88
5
93
23
111
116
116th (2019-2020)bb
102
4
106
26
127
131
117th (2021-2022)cc
126
4
130
26
152
156
Source: CRS summary, based on http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-
Congress/.
Notes: The column headings include the fol owing abbreviations: Representatives (Reps.), Delegates (Del.),
Resident Commissioners (RC), and Senators (Sens.).
Three columns include numbers for the House: (1) the number of women Representatives, (2) the number of
women nonvoting Members (including Delegates and Resident Commissioners), and (3) the total number of
women in the House.
Totals are also provided for (1) the number of women in the House and Senate not including nonvoting
Members and (2) the number of women in the House and Senate including nonvoting Members.
For simplification, Congresses are listed in two-year increments. Pursuant to the 20th Amendment to the
Constitution, which was ratified January 23, 1933, “the terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon
on the 3rd day of Jan.” For specific dates, see “Dates of Sessions of the Congress, present-1789,” at
http://www.senate.gov/reference/Sessions/sessionDates.htm.
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a. Includes two House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy and one Senator who was appointed to fil
a vacancy.
b. Includes two House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
c. Includes one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy.
d. Includes one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy and one Senator who was appointed to fil a
vacancy.
e. Includes one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy but not sworn in, one Senator who was
elected to fil a vacancy but not sworn in, and one Senator who was appointed to fil a vacancy.
f.
Includes four House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
g. Includes one Senator who was appointed to fil a vacancy.
h. Includes one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy, one Senator who was appointed to fil a
vacancy, and one Senator who was elected to fil that vacancy.
i.
Includes one House Member who died and one House Member elected to fil a vacancy.
j.
Includes three House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
k. Includes one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy and one Senator appointed to fil a vacancy.
l.
Includes two Senators who were appointed to fil a vacancy.
m. Includes one House Member-elect whose seat was declared vacant due to an incapacitating il ness, and one
House member who was elected to fil a vacancy.
n. Includes three House Members who were elected to a vacancy.
o. Includes one House Member who died.
p. Includes four House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
q. Includes one House Member and one Senator elected to fil a vacancy and one Senator who was appointed
to fil a vacancy.
r. Includes one Senator who was elected to fil a vacancy.
s. Includes one House Member who resigned and four House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
t.
Includes one House Member who died and one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy and two
appointed Senators.
u. Includes three House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
v. Includes four House Members who died and five House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
w. Includes two House Members who resigned, one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy, one
Senator who resigned, and one Senator initially elected to the House and then appointed to the Senate.
x. Includes two House Members who resigned and four House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
y. Includes one House Member who resigned and three House Members who were elected to fil a vacancy.
z. Includes two House Members who resigned and one House Member who was elected to fil a vacancy.
aa. Includes five House Members elected to fil a vacancy, one House Member who died, one House Member
who resigned, and two Senators appointed to fil a vacancy.
bb. Includes one House Member who resigned and one Senator appointed to fil a vacancy.
cc. Includes two House Members who resigned, one House Member who died, seven House Members elected
to fil a vacancy, one Senator who resigned, and one Senator whose appointed term expired. In addition,
one House Member was sworn in after a delay in the certification of her election.
Congressional Research Service

19

Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

Table A-2. Number of Women Sworn in on the First Day of Congress
Congress
House
Senate
Total Congress
102nd
29
2
31
103rd
48
6
54
104th
48
8
56
105th
53
9
62
106th
58
9
67
107th
61
13
74
108th
62
14
76
109th
68
14
82
110th
74
16
90
111th
78
17
95
112th
75
17
92
113th
81
20
101
114th
88
20
108
115th
88
21
109
116th
106
25
131
117th
122
26
148
Source: CRS calculations based on descriptions in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
(http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp).
Note: Includes Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner. The 117th Congress
number excludes one House Member who was reelected to office, but not sworn in until February 2021.

Author Information

Jennifer E. Manning
Ida A. Brudnick
Senior Research Librarian
Specialist on the Congress

Acknowledgments
Linda Carter, Elli Ludwigson, and Cara Warner provided assistance. Colleen J. Shogan, formerly Deputy
Director and Senior Specialist, and Susan Navarro Smelcer, formerly an Analyst on the Federal Judiciary,
were former coauthors of this report.
Congressional Research Service

20

Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

Congressional Research Service
R43244 · VERSION 38 · UPDATED
21

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