Women Lag In State Government

Hartford — As a result of last week’s election, women hold nine out of 36 seats in the state Senate and 44 out of 151 seats in the state House of Representatives. The Senate had a net gain of one woman and the House had a net loss of three women. Overall, the representation of women in the Connecticut General Assembly stands at 28.3 percent, a decrease of one percent from the last election. Connecticut still ranks within the top ten states in the country with respect to representation of women in state elective office.

“In Connecticut, the glass is half empty and half full,” said Attorney Natasha Pierre, associate legislative analyst for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW).

 “It’s half full because we have a considerable level of leadership and representation of women in our state government — including our governor — and a total of four out of six constitutional officers.  But it’s half empty because we have been at this plateau for several election cycles without making any more progress. Slightly less than one third is not bad, but it’s not close to parity, and we’re not getting any closer,” she said.

The PCSW released the following information regarding the number of women just elected to and serving in state government, following the election:

Connecticut’s Constitutional Officers: four of the six are women, or 67 percent.

Congressional Representatives: two of the six are women, 33 percent.

State Senate: nine of the six senators are women, 15 percent. This represents an increase of three percent (net gain of one woman) since the 2002 elections.

State Representatives: 44 of the 151 state representatives are women, 29 percent. This represents a two percent decrease (net loss of three women) since the 2002 elections.

Overall representation of women in the general assembly is 28.3 percent, a decrease of 1.1 percent.

Overall representation of women in state government is 29.6 percent, also a decrease of 1.1 percent.

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1973. The commission studies all matters concerning women, informs leaders about the nature and scope of discrimination, serves as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with services for women, promotes consideration of women for governmental positions, and works with state agencies to assess programs and practices as they affect women.