New Records for Women in State Legislatures by Race and Ethnicity

New records were set for women’s representation in state legislatures across most race and ethnicity groups following the 2024 elections, according to new data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Only white women hold fewer state legislative seats – by a small margin – in 2025 than they did in 2024.

Find race and ethnicity information about women serving in state legislatures at CAWP’s Women in State Legislatures 2025 and Representativeness of Women State Legislators by Race/Ethnicity and State fact sheets. Despite these gains, all groups of women are underrepresented in state legislative office compared to their proportion of the population as reported by the U.S. Census. Here are current numbers, with an asterisk denoting a new record.

• Asian American/Pacific Islander Women: 107* (99D, 7R, 1NP). The previous record was 100, set in 2023. AAPI women hold 1.4% of the nation’s state legislative seats but are 3.9% of the population.
• Black Women: 399* (390D, 7R, 1NP, 1I). The previous record was 386, set in 2024. Black women hold 5.4% of the nation’s state legislative seats but are 7.8% of the population.
• Latinas: 214* (182D, 31R, 1NP). This number was briefly 215 until a Latina officeholder left office in February. The previous record was 192, set in 2024. Latinas hold 2.9% of the nation’s state legislative seats but are 9.6% of the population.
• Middle Eastern/North African Women: 17* (17D). The previous record was 14, set in 2024. MENA is not a Census-designated category, so CAWP cannot compare their state legislative representativeness to population.
• Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Women: 44* (36D, 8R). The previous record was 36, set in 2023. Native women hold .6% of the nation’s state legislative seats but are 1.1% of the population.
• White Women: 1,718 (899D, 800R, 15NP, 4I). This is fewer than the 1,722 that served in 2024. White women hold 23.3% of the nation’s state legislative seats but are 30.5% of the population.
• Women Who Identify as Multiracial Alone: 5 (5D).

It should be noted that the numbers above include women who identify as more than one racial or ethnic group in each category with which they identify, so adding the numbers will not create an aggregate count of “women of color.”

“It’s encouraging to see increasing diversity among women serving in state legislative seats,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh, “but the broader context tells a different story. The 2024 election led to only modest gains for the number of women holding state legislative seats, and women of all backgrounds are still significantly underrepresented in state legislatures. Women now hold just a third of these seats, a significant improvement from the 11% they held 45 years ago, but still a long way from 50%.”

For more information, visit our Representativeness of Women State Legislators by Race/Ethnicity and State, which compares the representation of women of various racial/ethnic groups in state legislatures to their share of the population, both nationwide and in each state. See also our Women in State Legislatures 2025 fact sheet.