Participation of Women in National Legislatures: We’re Number 77

In the US Senate and the House of Representatives, there has been a slow, but steady increase in the number of women serving. In the 119th Congress (2025-2027), there are 125 women (29 percent) in the House of Representatives and 26 women (26 percent) in the Senate. (In addition, there are 4 non-voting women delegates in the House). In 2022, there are 562 women serving in state senates (28.5 percent) and 1,738 women in state lower chambers (32.1 percent). About two-thirds of all women serving are Democrats.

Throughout the world at the beginning of 2025, the Inter-Parliamentary Union found that 26.1 percent of legislators were women. Thus, the American representation could only be characterized as “near average,” ranking 77th in the world. In 2022, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Norway) had the highest average of women lawmakers, at 41.4 percent. The Americas (North and South) were next with 21.8 percent, followed by Europe (minus the Nordic countries) at 19.1 percent; Asian countries were next with 17.4 percent, Sub-Saharan Africa with 17.2 percent, Pacific Islands with 13.4 percent, and Arab states with 9.6 percent.

Sources: Inter-Parliamentary Union, “Monthly Ranking of Women in National Parliaments,” (February 2025, https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking/?date_month=1&date_year=2025); “More Women in Parliament and More Countries with Gender Parity,” Inter-Parliamentary Union, March 3, 2022, https://www.ipu.org/news/press-releases/2022-03/new-ipu-report-more-women-in-parliament-and-more-countries-with-gender-parity