Despite gains, women remain underrepresented among US political and business leaders

In 2017, 21 women serve in the US Senate and 83 serve in the House of Representatives, comprising 19.4% of Congress. While this share is nearly nine times higher than it was in 1965, it remains well below the 51.4% of women in the overall US adult population. The share of women serving in state legislatures is slightly higher than at the national level. Some 24.8% of state legislators are women, up from 4.5% in 1971.