State Legislature

Women in State Legislatures 2025

Women in State Legislative Leadership 2025

Women as a Percentage of Democratic and Republican State Legislators

State-by-state data on women as a percentage of Democratic and Republican state legislators.

Representativeness of Women State Legislators by Race/Ethnicity and State

State-by-state data on women’s state legislative representation by race/ethnicity compared to women’s representation in the population by race/ethnicity.  

Fact Sheet Archive on Women in State Legislatures (1977-present)

Women in State Legislative Elections: Historical State-by-State Summary

Historical information on women in State Legislative elections by state.

  • Equality Deferred: Women Candidates for the New Jersey Assembly 1920-1993

    by Richard P. and Katheryne McCormick 
    Center for American Women and Politics, 1994, 49 pages 

    This report explores the history of women's candidacies for the New Jersey Assembly and analyzes some of the reasons for the status of women as office-seekers in the state. 

    Report
    New Jersey
    Research
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Candidate Recruitment
    State Legislature
    DownloadEquality Deferred: Women Candidates for the New Jersey Assembly 1920-1993

  • Women State Legislators, Women's Organizations, and the Representation of Women's Culture in the United States

    by Susan J. Carroll
    Book chapter in Women Transforming Politics: Worldwide Strategies for Empowerment, edited by Jill M. Bystydzienski (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991)

    Book Chapter
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Civic and Political Activism
    State Legislature
    Order the book

  • The Impact of Women in Public Office: An Overview

    by Debra L. Dodson, Susan J. Carroll, and Ruth B. Mandel
    Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1991, 32 pages

    This report highlights and summarizes selected findings from CAWP's study of women state legislators and from the eleven CAWP-sponsored studies of women officeholders' impact conducted by individual scholars. 

    Report
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Impact of Women Public Officials
    State Legislature
    DownloadThe Impact of Women in Public Office: An Overview

  • Reshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislatures

    by Debra L. Dodson and Susan J. Carroll
    Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1991, 122 pages

    This report examines gender differences among state legislators in their policy views, actions, and perspectives on the legislative process. 

    Report
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Impact of Women Public Officials
    State Legislature
    DownloadReshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislatures

  • Findings at a Glance: Impact of Women in Public Office

    Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1991, 8 pages
     

    A summary report on the information from the Impact of Women in Public Office series. 

    Report
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Impact of Women Public Officials
    State Legislature
    DownloadFindings at a Glance: Impact of Women in Public Office