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History of Women in the U.S. Congress

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This infographic highlights 10 Congresses that are notable in the history of women’s fight for equal representation in the United States.

65th Congress (1917–19)

  • Three years before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman in Congress, serving in the House of Representatives.
  • The 65th Congress had 1 woman member out of a total of 531 members. That is 0.19% of all members.
  • The House of Representatives had 1 woman and the Senate had no women.

67th Congress (1921–23)

  • After women gained the right to vote, three women were elected to the House of Representatives. In addition, Rebecca Latimer Felton became the first woman in the Senate (1922)—though she was appointed to the post and served only one day.
  • The 67th Congress had 4 women members out of a total of 531 members. That is 0.75% of all members. The House of Representatives had 3 women and the Senate had 1 woman.

72nd Congress (1931–33)

  • In 1932 Hattie Wyatt Caraway won a special election to become the first woman elected to the Senate; the previous year she had been appointed to the seat that her recently deceased husband had held.
  • The 72nd Congress had 8 women members out of a total of 531 members. That is 1.51% of all members. The House of Representatives had 7 women and the Senate had 1 woman. 

77th Congress (1941–43)

  • During World War II—which greatly changed women’s roles in society, especially as more joined the workforce—the number of women in Congress entered the double digits (10) for the first time.
  • The 77th Congress had 10 women members out of a total of 531 members. That is 1.88% of all members. The House of Representatives had 9 women and the Senate had 1 woman. 

83rd Congress (1953–55)

  • Three women served in the Senate, and that number would not be surpassed until 1991.
  • The 83rd Congress had 14 women members out of a total of 531 members. That is 2.64% of all members. The House of Representatives had 11 women and the Senate had 3 women.

87th Congress (1961–63)

  • For the first time, 20 women were in Congress—18 in the House and 2 in the Senate.
  • The 87th Congress had 20 women members out of a total of 537 members. That is 3.72% of all members.

102nd Congress (1991–93)

  • An energized female electorate—fueled, in part, by the 1991 confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas for the the U.S. Supreme Court—made 1992 the “Year of the Woman.”
  • The 102nd Congress had 33 women members out of a total of 535 members. That is 6.17% of all members. The House of Representatives had 29 women and the Senate had 4 women.

110th Congress (2007–09)

  • Nancy Pelosi of California became the first female speaker of the House in 2007.
  • The 110th Congress had 92 women members out of a total of 535 members. That is 17.2% of all members. The House of Representatives had 76 women and the Senate had 16 women.

113th Congress (2013–15)

  • The number of women in Congress surpassed 100 for the first time, and it included an unprecedented 20 women senators.
  • The 113th Congress had 101 women members out of a total of 535 members. That is 18.88% of all members. The House of Representatives had 81 women and the Senate had 20 women.

116th Congress (2019–21)

  • In the 2018 midterm elections more than 529 women ran for Congress, a dramatic increase that was partly attributed to anger over the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president. A record-setting 117 won, joining the 10 female senators who were not up for election.
  • The 116th Congress had 128 women members out of a total of 535 members. That is 24% of all members. The House of Representatives had 102 women and the Senate had 26 women.