A Big First for Female Lawmakers in the US

More than half of state legislature is female in Nevada, a historic moment

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 4, 2019 1:53 PM CST

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For 1st Time, Majority of a State's Lawmakers Are Women — In this June 1, 2015, file photo, members of the Nevada State Assembly work late into the night voting on a number of bills before they close the 78th session of the Legislature in Carson City. (AP Photo/Lance Iversen, File)

In the US, more than half of the population—50.8%—is female. But it wasn't until this year that a state legislature has been made up of more than 50% women. In Nevada, which began its legislative session Monday, 50.8% of state representatives and senators are women, NPR reports. Just one other state, Colorado, has a female majority in any one chamber (Colorado's lower house has three more women than men), and such a single chamber majority has only occurred once before in the nation's history. Of course, the gender gap remains wide in other states (only about 15% of state lawmakers in Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, and Louisiana are female), and nationwide, women make up just 28% of representation. (The number of women running for president in 2020 presents a "challenge.")