Despite Recent Gains, Women Continue to Be Underrepresented in Pennsylvania's State Legislature

fforts to shrink the gender gap in the state legislature have made gains in recent years, but Pennsylvania still has work to do and is not keeping pace with many other states across the country.

In fact, while women have increased their representation in state legislatures from 2016 to 2025, Pennsylvania currently ranks only 31 out of the 50 states with 32.4% female state lawmakers, according to The Center for American Women and Politics.

Three states – Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado – have actually achieved gender parity in their state legislatures. In Pennsylvania’s legislature, women account for 28.1% of Republican state legislators and 36.8% of Democratic lawmakers. In comparison, Utah was 1st with Democratic women 75% and Republican women at only 20.7%; Mississippi was last with Democratic women 17% and Republican women at 13%.

Nevertheless, as a whole women only make up one-third of all state legislators even though they represent about 50 percent of the general population. And gains across the country have largely been led by Democratic women, who comprise 34.1% of state legislatures. Republican women on the other hand only account for 21.3% – a statistic that experts say is the result of a systemic failure to invest in female candidates.



https://buckscountybeacon.com/2025/11/despite-recent-gains-women-continue-to-be-underrepresented-in-pennsylvanias-state-legislature/