Data on Girls’ School Alumnae & Women in Politics

Data on Girls’ School Alumnae & Women in Politics

One out of every nine women currently serving in the U.S. Congress attended a girls’ school. An impressive statistic when you consider girls’ school students account for less than 1% (estimated 151,000+) of America’s female student population.

Girls’ School Alumnae in U.S. Federal Government

  • While only 24% of the current U.S. Senators serving are female, 13% of those women graduated from girls’ schools.
  • Only 27% of the current U.S. House of Representatives are female, yet 10% of those women graduated from girls’ schools.

Women in U.S. Federal & State Government [1]

  • Vice President: Kamala Harris (first women to hold the office as well as the first Black person and the first South Asian person)
  • Congress: 143 (27% of the 535 seats)
    • Senate: 24 (24% of 100 seats) [includes 3 women of color]
    • House: 119 (27% of 435 seats) [includes 48 women of color]
  • Governors: 9 (18% of 50 states)
  • State Senate: 558 (28% of 1,972 seats)
  • State House/Assembly: 1,721 (32% of 5,411 seats)

Women Who Ran in the U.S. 2020 Elections [3]

  • Congress: 319
    • Senate: 21
    • House: 298
  • Governors: 3
  • State Senate: 646 (44 states)
  • State House/Assembly: 2,777 total (44 states)

Women in Canadian Federal & Provincial/Territorial Government

  • The Cabinet: 17 (50% of 34 seats) [4]
  • Parliament: 137 (31% of 439 seats)
    • Senate: 46 (44% of 105 seats) [5]
    • House of Commons: 91 (27% of of 334 seats) [6]
  • Premiers: 1 (7% of 13 provinces/territories) [7]

Women in National Parliaments

Compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 193 countries are ranked by percentage of women in the lower or single House. Click here to view the complete data table.

  • #1 Rwanda
  • #2 Cuba
  • #3 United Arab Emirates
  • #4 Nicaragua
  • #5 New Zealand . . .
  • #39 United Kingdom
  • #50 Australia
  • #52 Canada
  • #67 United States of America

[1] Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-trump-administration/the-cabinet/
[3] Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University
[4] https://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/ministries
[5] https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/
[6] http://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members
[7] http://www.thecanadaguide.com/data/provincial-premiers/