This file was prepared for electronic distribution by the inforM staff. Questions or comments should be directed to inform-editor@umail.umd.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Information provided by the NATIONAL WOMEN'S POLITICAL CAUCUS, 1275 K Street NW, #750, Washington, DC 20005-4051. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FACT SHEET ON WOMEN'S POLITICAL PROGRESS June 7, 1993 WOMEN IN THE U.S. SENATE In 1971, when the Caucus was founded, women held two seats out of 100 in the U.S. Senate. In 1993, women make up a record seven percent of the U.S. Senate. Two are Republicans and five are Democrats. Of these seven women Senators, four were newly elected and one was re-elected in 1992, one woman incumbent was not up for re-election and one woman was elected in a special election in June 1993. In 1992, a record 11 women (10 Democrats and one Republican) won their primaries and were major parry candidates for the U.S. Senate. None of the women in the U.S. Senate won their seat by defeating an electcd incumbent in the general election Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein are the first women representing the same state in the U.S. Senate simultaneously. Carol Moseley-Braun is the first African-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Number of Women Senators: 7 Democrats: 5 Republican: 2 Women of Color: 1 Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kansas) Patty Murray (D-Wash.) WOMEN IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES In 1992, 24 new women were elected to the U.S. House and 23 (1) incumbents were re-elected, bringing the total from 281 in the 102nd Congress to a record 47 (1) in the 103rd Congress. Of the 24 new women in the House, only two ran against incumbents; 22 won open seats. Twenty-two percent of thc new U.S. House members and 33 percent of thc ncw Democrats in the U.S. House are women. The 1992 election increased the percentage of women in the House from 6 percent to 11 percent. Number of Women Representatives: 47 (1) Democrats: 35 (1) Republicans: 12 Women of Color: 12 (1) African American: 8 (1) Hispanic: 3 Asian: 1 Pro-Choice: 44 (1) Helen Bentley (R-Md.) (2) Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-Pa.) Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) Leslie Byrne (D-Va) Carrie Meek (D-Fla) Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) Jan Meyers (R-Kansas) Eva Clayton (D-N.C.) Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii) Barbara-Rose Collins (D-Mi.) Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) Cardiss Collins (D-Ill.) Connie Morella (R-Md.) Pat Danner (D-Mo.) Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla) (2) Karan English (D-Ariz) Marge Roukema (R-NJ.) Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) Tillie Fowler (R-Fla.) Lynn Schenk (D-Calif.) Elizabeth Furse (D-Orc.) Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) Jane Harman (D-Calif.) Karen Shepherd (D-Utah) Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) Karen Thurman (D-Fla.) Barbara Kennelly (D-Conn.) Jolene Unsoeld (D-Wash.) Blanche Lambert (D-Arkansas) Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) Marilyn Lloyd (D-Tenn.) Barbara Vucanovich (R-Nev.) (2) Jill Long (D-Ind.) Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) ______________________________________________________________ (1) Plus Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), a delegate from the District of Columbia (2) Defined themselves as anti-choice on an NWPC questionnaire --------------------------------------------------------------- STATES WITH THE MOST WOMEN IN THE U.S. HOUSE The following is a ranking of states by percentage of U.S. House seats held by women. NUMBER OF SEATS STATE HELD BY WOMEN TOTAL SEATS PERCENTAGE Connecticut 3 6 50% Hawaii 1 2 50 Maine 1 2 50 Nevada 1 2 50 Utah 1 3 33.3 Washington 3 9 33.3 Arkansas 1 4 25 Kansas 1 4 25 Maryland 2 8 25 Florida 5 23 21.7 Oregon 1 5 20 Arizona 1 6 16.7 Colorado 1 6 16.7 New York 5 31 16.1 California 7 52 13.5 Missouri 1 9 11.1 Tennessee 1 9 11.1 Ohio 2 19 10.5 Indiana 1 10 10 Georgia 1 11 9.1 Virginia 1 11 9.1 North Carolina 1 12 8.3 New Jersey 1 13 7.7 Michigan 1 16 6.3 Illinois 1 20 5 Pennsylvania 1 21 4.8 Texas 1 30 3.3 The following 23 states have no women in the U.S. House of Representatives: Alabama Nebraska Alaska New Hampshire Delaware New Mexico Idaho North Dakota Iowa Oklahoma Kentucky Rhode Island Louisiana South Carolina Massachusetts South Dakota Minnesota Vermont Mississippi West Virginia Montana Wisconsin Wyoming WOMEN WHO HOLD STATEWIDE OFFICE (1) GOVERNORS: A total of 12 women (11 Democrats and 1 Republican) have served as Governor. Of the 12, eight were elected in their own right, one was elected to finish the term of her deceased husband, one rose from Secretary of State after a gubernatorial impeachment, and two were elected as surrogates for husbands who could not run for re-election. A record of four women Governors were in office from January to March 1991. There are currently three women Governors. Number of women Governors: 3 Democrats: 3 Republicans: 0 Pro Choice: 2 Joan Finney (D-Kansas) (2) Barbara Roberts (D-Ore.) Ann Richards (D-Texas) LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS: Over one quarter of the 42 states with Lieutenant Governors have women serving in that position. A total of 28 women have served as Lieutenant Governor. 26 were elected and 2 were appointed. Number of women Lieutenant Governors: 11 Democrats: 3 Republicans: 7 Independent: 1 (3) Connie Binsfeld (R-Mich.) Rosemarie Myrdal (R-N.D.) Joy Coming (R-Iowa) Melinda Schwegmann (D-La) Joanell Dyrstad (R-Minn.) Barbara Snelling (R-Vt.) Eunice Groark (ACP-CT) (3) Sue Wagner (R-Nev.) Ruth Ann Minner (D-Del.) Olene Walker (R-Utah) Maxine Moul (D-Neb.) _______________________________________________________________ (1) Not counting women serving in the district of Columbia or insular territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) (2) Defines herself as anti-choice (3) ACP - A Connecticut Party --------------------------------------------------------------- ATTORNEYS GENERAL: Eight of the 50 states (16 percent) currently have women serving as Attorney General. (1) A record nine women Attorneys General (18 percent) served in January 1993 before Mary Sue Terry (D-Va.) resigned to run for Governor. Women are serving as Attorney General in the Virgin Islands and Guam. A woman is currently acting Attorney General in Puerto Rico. Pamela Fanning Carter is the first African-American woman Attorney General. She was elected in 1992 and is the only woman of color currently serving as Attorney General. Number of elected women Attorneys General: 7 Democrats: 6 Republican: 1 Women of Color: 1 Bonnie Campbell (D-Iowa) Christine Gregoire (D-Wash) Pamela Fanning Carter (D-Ind.) Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) Frankie Sue del Papa (D-Nev.) Gale Norton (R-Colo.) Jan Graham (D-Utah) SECRETARIES OF STATE: Eleven (22 percent) of the current Secretaries of State are women. (2) Number of elected women Secretaries of State: 11 Democrats: 6 Republicans: 5 Elaine Baxter (D-Iowa) Pauline Kezer (R-Conn.) March Fong Eu (D-Calif) Cheryl Lau (R-Nev.) Stephanie Gonzales (D-N.M.) Barbara Leonard (R-R.L) Joan Growe (DFL-Minn.) Natalie Meyer (R-Colo.) Joyce Hazeltine (R-SD.) Judith Moriarty (D-Mo.) Kathleen Karpan (D-Wyo.) ________________________________________________________ (1) Includes Susan Loving, appointed in 1992 to fill a vacancy in Okalahoma. (2) Plus Brenda Mitchell, Secretary of State for Pennsylvania and Gail Shaffer, Secretary of State in New York. The office is an appointed position under state law in both states and therefore these women are not included in the number of women holding statewide elected executive office. --------------------------------------------------------- TREASURERS: Sixteen of the 50 states (32 percent) cuurently have women serving as Treasurer. (1) Number of elected women Treasurers: 16 Democrats: 10 Republicans: 6 Jimmie Lou Fisher (D-Ark.) Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Kathleen Brown (D-Calif.) Kathi Gilmore (D-N.D.) Gail Schoettler (D-Colo.) Dawn Rockey (D-Neb.) Janet Rzewnicki (R-Del.) Mary Ellen Withrow (D-Ohio) Lydia Justice Edwards (R-Idaho) Claudette Henry (R-Okla.) Marjorie O'Laughlin (R-Ind.) Catharine Baker Knoll (D-Pa.) Sally Thompson (D-Kan.) Nancy Mayer (R-R.I.) Frances Jones Mills (D-Ky.) Cathy Zeuske (R-Wisc.) AUDITORS: Four of the 50 states (8 percent) currently have women serving as State Auditor. Number of women Auditors: 4 Democrats: 1 Republicans: 3 Julia Hughes Jones (D-Ark.) Margaret Kelly (R-Mo.) Ann DeVore (R-Ind.) Barbara Hafer (R-Pa.) ____________________________________________________________ (1) In addition, Lois Menzies, appointed Director of the Department of Administartion in Wyoming, fulfills the duties of Treasurer. Maryland Treasurer Lucille Maurer and New Hampshire Treasurer Georgie Thomas were both elected by their respective state legislatures. These women are not included in the overall number of women holding statewide elected elected executive office. --------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER WOMEN ELECTED STATEWIDE State Comptroller, Dawn Clark Netsch (D-Ill.) Superintendent of Public Instruction C. Diane Bishop (D-Ariz) Sandy Garrett (D-Okla.) Suellen Reed (R-Ind.) Norma Paulus (NP-Ore.) Nancy Keenan (D-Mont.) Judith Billings (NP-Wash.) Diana Ohman (R-Wyo.) Superintendent of Education, Barbara Nielsen (R-S.C) Commissioncr of Education, Betty Castor (D-Fla.) Commissioner of Agriculture, Sarah Vogel (D-ND.) Commissioner of Insurance, Donna Lee Williams (R-Del.) and Deborah Senn (D-Wash.) Commissioner of Labor, Mary Roberts (D-Ore.) Commissioner of Public Lands, Jennifer Belcher (D-Wash.) Corporation Commissioner, Marcia Weeks (D-Ariz) Public Scrvice Commissioner, Jan Cook (D-Ala) Public Utilities Commissioner, Laska Schoenfelder (R-S.D.) STATE LEGISLATORS One-fifth of all state legislators (20.4 percent) are women in 1993, up from 18.3 percent in 1991. A total of 1,517 women now serve in state legislatures. A total of 338 of the 1,984 state Senators are women; 1,179 of the 5,440 lower house members are women. 1991, for the first time, every state had at least one woman serving in each house of its state legislature. In 1993, every state (except Nebraska which is unicameral) has at least one woman in its Senate and at least five women in its lower house. STATES WITH THE MOST WOMEN LEGISLATORS The following is a ranking of states according to the percentage of women in their state legislatures. STATE PERCENTAGE STATE PERCENTAGE Washington 39.5% Michigan 19.6% Arizona 35.6 Montana 19.3 Colorado 34.0 Indiana 19.3 Vermont 33.9 Missouri 18.8 New Hampshire 33.5 Nonh Carolina 18.2 Maine 31.7 Florida 17.5 Idaho 30.5 Georgia 17.4 Kansas 28.5 West Virginia 16.4 Minnesota 27.4 North Dakota 16.3 Wisconsin 27.3 New York 16.1 Nevada 27.0 Texas 16.0 Oregon 26.7 Iowa 14.7 Connecticut 25.1 Delaware 14.5 Rhode Island 24.7 Utah 13.5 Wyoming 24.4 South Carolina 12.9 Hawaii 23.7 New Jersey 12.5 Maryland 23.9 Tennessee 12.1 California 23.3 Virginia 12.1 Illinois 23.2 Mississippi 10.9 Massachusetts 22.5 Pennsylvania 9.9 Alaska 21.7 Arkansas 9.6 Ohio 21.2 Oklahoma 9.4 Nebraska 20.4 Louisiana 6.9 South Dakota 20.0 Alabama 5.7 New Mexico 19.6 Kentucky 4.3 _______________________________________________________________ SOURCES: Center for the American Woman and Politics, Eagleton Institute, Rutgers University The National Conference of Lieutenant Governors The National Association of Attorneys General The National Association of Secretaries of State