Women in Government (Quick Take)

GLOBAL

Select countries ranked by women’s representation in national legislatures or parliaments (as of October 1, 2020):1

• Rwanda = 1
• Cuba = 2
• Australia = 50
• Canada = 57
• United States = 87
• India = 145
• Japan = 167
• The rest of the top ten include (in the order of their ranking): Bolivia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sweden, Grenada, Andorra, and South Africa.2

Current Women World Leaders

The following countries have democratically elected women leaders as of January 2021:3

Leader	Title	Country
Jacinda Ardern4	Prime Minister	New Zealand
Bidhya Devi Bhandari5	President	Nepal
Ana Brnabić6	Prime Minister	Serbia
Zuzana Čaputová7	President	Slovakia
Mette Frederiksen8	Prime Minister	Denmark
Sheikh Hasina9	Prime Minister	Bangladesh
Tsai Ing-wen10	President	Taiwan
Katrín Jakobsdóttir11	Prime Minister	Iceland
Kersti Kaljulaid12	President	Estonia
Sanna Marin13	Prime Minister	Finland
Angela Merkel14	Chancellor	Germany
Mia Mottley15	Prime Minister	Barbados
Vjosa Osmani16	Acting President	Kosovo
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda17	Prime Minister	Gabon
Katerina Sakellaropoulou18	President	Greece
Maia Sandu19	President	Moldova
Ingrida Šimonytė20	Prime Minister	Lithuania
Erna Solberg21	Prime Minister	Norway
Simonetta Sommaruga22	President of the Swiss Confederation	Switzerland
Paula-Mae Weekes23	President	Trinidad and Tobago
Victoire Tomegah Dogbé24	Prime Minister	Togo
Halimah Yacob25	President	Singapore
Sahle-Work Zewde26	President	Ethiopia
Salome Zurabishvili27	President	Georgia

CANADA

UNITED STATES

117th United States Congress: A Record Number of Women But Still a Long Way to Parity28

As of 2021, women occupy 142 (26.5%) of the 535 seats in the United States Congress (105 Democratic, 37 Republican).29

• In the House of Representatives, women hold 118 (27.1%) of the 435 seats (89 Democratic, 29 Republican).30
• In the Senate, women hold 24 (24%) of the 100 seats (16 Democratic, 8 Republican).31

Percentage of Women in the 117th United States Congress

 

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives.32

• In 2019, Pelosi was elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives for a second time.33

In 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the first woman nominated by a major party for President of the United States.34

In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first woman, the first multiracial woman, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian woman elected to serve as Vice President of the United States.35

More Women of Color Are Serving in Congress Than Ever Before36

Just 9.5% of the total members of Congress are women of color.37

• Of the 142 women members of Congress, 51 (35.9%) are women of color.38

Forty-eight women of color currently serve in the House of Representatives and three women of color serve in the Senate.39

Few Women Have Ever Held a US Cabinet Position

Fifty-five women have held a total of 62 cabinet or cabinet-level appointments in the history of the United States.40

• President Joe Biden has selected twelve women to serve in cabinet or cabinet-level posts. If all nominees are confirmed, half of the President’s Cabinet will comprise of women.41

US Governors and Executive Officers: Women Remain the Minority

Nine US governors are women in 2021.42

Women hold less than one-third (30.3%) of statewide elective executive offices around the country.43

• Seventeen (5.5%) of statewide elected executive officers are women of color.44

Women’s Share of US State Legislatures Is Growing, but Men Still Occupy the Majority of Seats

• Currently, 30.8% of US state legislators are women.45
• Women hold 557 (28.2%) of state senate seats and 1,719 (31.8%) of state house or assembly seats.46
• There are more than five times as many women serving in state legislatures now than in 1971.47

Women of Color Are Winning More Mayoral Elections48

As of June 2020, 23.3% of all US cities with more than 30,000 residents had a woman mayor.49

• Twenty-seven women currently serve as mayors among the 100 largest cities in the United States.50
  • Ten of these mayors are women of color: six are Black women, two are Latinas, and two are Asian Pacific Islander women.51

LEARN MORE

 

How to cite this product: Women in government: Quick Take. (2021, January 20). Catalyst.

1. Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2020, October 1). Percentage of women in national parliaments [Data set]. IPU parline: Global data on national parliaments.
2. Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2020, October 1). Percentage of women in national parliaments [Data set]. IPU parline: Global data on national parliaments.
3. This list includes heads of state and heads of government. It does not include monarchs or other non-elected leaders.
4. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). New Zealand, government. The World Factbook.
5. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Nepal, government. The World Factbook.
6. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Serbia, government. The World Factbook.
7. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Slovakia, government. The World Factbook.
8. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Denmark, government. The World Factbook.
9. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Bangladesh, government. The World Factbook.
10. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Taiwan, government. The World Factbook.
11. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Iceland, government. The World Factbook.
12. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Estonia, government. The World Factbook.
13. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Finland, government. The World Factbook.
14. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Germany, government. The World Factbook.
15. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Barbados, government. The World Factbook.
16. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Kosovo, government. The World Factbook.
17. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Gabon, government. The World Factbook.
18. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Greece, government. The World Factbook.
19. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Moldova, government. The World Factbook.
20. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Lithuania, government. The World Factbook.
21. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Norway, government. The World Factbook.
22. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Switzerland, government. The World Factbook.
23. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Trinidad and Tobago, government. The World Factbook.
24. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Togo, government. The World Factbook.
25. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Singapore, government. The World Factbook.
26. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Ethiopia, government. The World Factbook.
27. Central Intelligence Agency. (2020). Georgia, government. The World Factbook.
28. Record number of women to serve in the 117th U.S. Congress. (2020, November 5). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
29. Fact sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
30. Fact sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
31. Fact sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
32. Full biography. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
33. Snell, K. & Naylor, B. (2019, January 3). Pelosi retakes gavel as House Speaker with new session of Congress. NPR.
34. Green, E. (2016, July 26). ‘We are preparing to shatter the highest glass ceiling in our country’. The Atlantic.
35. CAWP statement on Kamala Harris becoming the first woman and first woman of color elected Vice President. (2020, November 7). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
36. Record number of women of color to serve in the U.S. Congress. (2020, November 12). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
37. Fact sheet: Women of color in elected office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
38. Fact sheet: Women of color in elected office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
39. Fact sheet: Women of color in elected office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
40. Women appointed to presidential cabinets. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
41. Rakich, N., Wiederkehr, A., & Conroy, M. (2021, January 11). Biden’s record-breaking cabinet nominees, in one chart. FiveThirtyEight.
42. Fact sheet: Women in statewide elective executive office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
43. Fact sheet: Women in statewide elective executive office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
44. Fact sheet: Women of color in elected office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
45. Fact sheet: Women in state legislatures 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
46. Fact sheet: Women in state legislatures 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
47. Fact sheet: Women in state legislatures 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
48. King, M. (2020, July 9). For Black women mayors, rising national profiles come with political risk. Politico.
49. Fact sheet: Women in elective office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
50. Fact sheet: Women in elective office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University; Fact sheet: Women of color in elective office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.
51. Fact sheet: Women in elective office 2021. (2021). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.

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