Women in the US Congress 2016

Current Congress
104
(76D, 28R)
19.4% of 535 seats
U.S. Senate
20
(14D, 6R)
20% of 100 seats
U.S. House
84
(62D, 22R)
19.3% of 435 seats
U.S. Delegate
4
(3D, 1R)

U.S. Delegates are non-voting members and are not included in our total counts.

Congresswomen by Race and Ethnicity

Women who self-identify as more than one race/ethnicity are included on CAWP pages for each group with which they identify. We strongly caution against adding totals from each racial/ethnic group should, as it will double count officeholders.

Of the 104 women in the current Congress:

  • 7 identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander
  • 18 identify as Black
  • 9 identify as Latina
  • 70 identify as white

In addition, of the 4 women who serve as non-voting delegates: 1 identifies as Asian American/Pacific Islander, 2 identify as Black, 1 identifies as white.

Historic Congress
307
(198D, 109R)

The number of women who have served in Congress to date.

  • California has sent more women to Congress than any other state - a total of 39 to date.
  • New York is next with 27 women to date.
  • 3 states (DE, MS, VT) have never sent a woman to either the House or the Senate.
U.S. Senate Only
35
(21D, 14R)
U.S. House Only
261
(169D, 92R)
Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House
11
(8D, 3R)
  • 1916

    Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

  • 1922

    Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA) became the first woman appointed to the Senate, but only served one day.

  • 1964

    Patsy Takemoto Mink (D-HI) became the first woman of color elected to the House.

  • 1978

    Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS) became the first woman elected to the Senate without having previously filled an unexpired Congressional term. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) was the first Democratic woman to do so in 1987.

  • 1992

    Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) became the first woman of color elected to the Senate.

  • 1998

    Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) became the first openly gay or lesbian person elected to an initial Congressional term. She is now the first openly gay member of the Senate.