	Introduction

Including the first woman to serve in 1917, a total of 365 women have been elected or appointed to serve in the U.S. Congress. Table 2 shows that women account for
23.7% of voting Members in the House and Senate (127 of 535); 24.2% of total Members in the House and Senate (131 of 541, including the Delegates and Resident Commissioner); 23.4% of voting Representatives in the House (102 of 435); 24.0% of total Members in the House (106 of 441, including the Delegates and Resident Commissioner); and 25.0% of the Senate. This report includes historical information, including the (1) number and percentage of women in Congress over time; (2) means of entry to Congress; (3) comparisons to international and state legislatures; (4) records for tenure; (5) firsts for women in Congress; (6) African American, Asian Pacific, Hispanic American, and American Indian women in Congress; and (7) women in leadership. It also provides a brief overview of research questions related to the role and impact of women in Congress. For additional biographical information—including the names, committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the women who have served in Congress—see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2019: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress , by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick. More recently, the 115 th Congress concluded with 115 women, and on the first day of the 116 th Congress, the number of women in Congress increased 13.9%, to 131 women. Figure 1 shows the changes in the number of women serving in each Congress. For a table listing the total number of women who have served in each Congress, including information on turnover within a Congress, please see Table A-2 in the Appendix . Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT, 1917-1919, 1941-1943). Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA) was appointed in 1922 to fill the unexpired term of a Senator who had died in office. First woman to succeed her spouse in the Senate and also the first female initially elected to a full six-year term. First woman elected to the Senate without first having been elected to the House or having been elected or appointed to fill an unexpired Senate term. Women Who Have Served in Both Houses

Sixteen women have served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) was the first such woman, as well as the first woman elected to the Senate without first having been elected or appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat. The previous record number was 21, including 2 Delegates, serving at the end of the 115 th Congress. A total of 47 African American women have served in Congress. Asian Pacific American Women in Congress

Ten Asian Pacific American women serve in the 116 th Congress. Hispanic Women in Congress

Twenty Hispanic or Latino women have served in Congress, all but one in the House, and 15 of them, a record number, serve in the 116 th Congress. In the 116 th Congress, there are currently nine committees led by women: five standing committees in the House, one standing committee in the Senate, one select committee in the House, one select committee in the Senate, and one joint committee.
A record 131 women currently serve in the 116th Congress. There are 106 women serving in the House (including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), 91 Democrats and 15 Republicans. There are 25 women in the Senate, 17 Democrats and 8 Republicans.
These 131 women surpass the previous record of 115 women at the close of the 115th Congress. The numbers of women serving fluctuated during the 115th Congress; there were 109 women initially sworn in, 5 women subsequently elected to the House, 2 appointed to the Senate, and 1 woman in the House who died in office.
The very first woman elected to Congress was Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT, served 1917-1919 and 1941-1943). The first woman to serve in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA). She was appointed in 1922 and served for only one day. Hattie Caraway (D-AR, served 1931-1945) was the first Senator to succeed her husband and the first woman elected to a six-year Senate term.
A total of 365 women have ever been elected or appointed to Congress, including 247 Democrats and 118 Republicans. These figures include six nonvoting Delegates (one each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa, and two from the U.S. Virgin Islands), as well as one Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. Of these,
309 (211 Democrats, 98 Republicans) women have been elected only to the House of Representatives; 40 (25 Democrats, 15 Republicans) women have been elected or appointed only to the Senate; 16 (11 Democrats, 5 Republicans) women have served in both houses; 47 African American women have served in Congress (2 in the Senate, 45 in the House), including 25 serving in the 116th Congress; 13 Asian Pacific American women have served in Congress (10 in the House, 1 in the Senate, and 2 in both the House and Senate), including 10 in the 116th Congress; 20 Hispanic women have served in Congress (including 1 in the Senate), including 15 in the 116th Congress; and 2 American Indian women, both currently serving in the House, have served in Congress.
In the 116th Congress, eight women serve as committee chairs (six in the House, two in the Senate).
This report includes historical information, including the number of women in Congress over time; means of entry to Congress; comparisons to international and state legislatures; records for tenure; firsts for women in Congress; women in leadership; African American, Asian Pacific American, Hispanic, and American Indian women in Congress; as well as a brief overview of research questions related to the role and impact of women in Congress. The Appendix provides details on the total number of women who have served in each Congress, including information on changes within a Congress. The numbers in the report may be affected by the time periods used when tallying any particular number. The text and notes throughout the report provide details on time periods used for the tallies and the currency of the information.
For additional biographical information—including the committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 365 women who have been elected or appointed to Congress—see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2019: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress, by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick.