How many women have served in the United States Senate? Dianne Feinstein was one of few
Fifty-nine women have served in the United States Senate since its founding in 1789. Twenty-four of those lawmakers govern today, a loss of one seat since California Democrat Dianne Feinstein’s death was announced Friday.
More than 2,000 people have served in the Senate total, according to the congressional body’s website.
The 118th Congress — the current House of Representatives and Senate — is made up of a little more than a quarter of female members, a total of 28%, and the highest percentage in U.S. history, according to the Pew Research Center.
Feinstein was the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate. She took office in 1992, coined the “year of the woman in national politics,” according to archival articles from The Sacramento Bee.
Anita Hill’s testimony in 1991 that soon-to-be appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her fueled a political movement for women in Congress.
There was a total of 33 women serving in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 102nd Congress, which met from 1991 to 1993, according to Britannica, an online encyclopedia. This included Feinstein.
Women in US Congress throughout the years
Rebecca L. Felton, a Democrat from Georgia, was the first woman appointed to Senate in 1922. She served in the Senate for a single day as she was only filling a vacant seat, according to the United States Senate. Those 24 hours fueled Felton to become a political activist, feminist and journalist. Ten years later, Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the first woman elected to Senate in 1932. She served for 14 years, according to the Pew Research Center.
Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat from Maryland, served five Senate terms, plus five terms in the House for a total of 40 years, making her the first woman to serve 40 years in Congress, according to Pew Research.
During the 110th Congress, in 2007, Nancy Pelosi, was appointed the first female speaker of the House. She was first elected to in 1987. The two-year term had 92 women in U.S. Congress of the 535 total members when counting both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to Britannica.
During the 113th congressional term of 2013, the number of women surpassed 100 members in U.S. Congress for the first time, 20 of whom were senators.
Women who who took Senate seats in 2013 included: Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota Democrat; Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii Democrat; Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, Deb Fischer, Nebraska Republican; Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat.
Women in Congress today
There are 153 women of the 540 members in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 24 female senators serving in Congress today, after the death of Feinstein, they include:
Patty Murray, Democrat Washington
Susan M. Collins, Republican Maine
Debbie Stabenow, Democrat Michigan
Maria Cantwell, Democrat Washington
Lisa Murkowski, Republican Arkansas
Amy Klobuchar, Democrat Minnesota
Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat New Hampshire
Kristen E. Gillibrand, Democrat New York
Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat Hawaii
Elizabeth Warren, Democrat Massachusetts
Deb Fischer, Republican Nebraska
Tammy Baldwin, Democrat Wisconsin
Shelley Moore Capito, Republican West Virginia
Joni Ernst, Republican Iowa
Margaret Wood Hassan, Democrat New Hampshire
Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat Nevada
Tammy Duckworth, Democrat Illinois
Tina Smith, Democrat Minnesota
Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republic Mississippi
Marsha Blackburn, Republican Tennessee
Jacky Rosen, Democrat Nevada
Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat Independent Arizona
Cynthia M. Lummis, Republican Wyoming
Katie Boyd Britt, Republican Alabama
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