COUNT US IN
WOMEN IN NUMBERS
44
Women of color show the power of their voices in high-ranking government positions.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, out of the 435 members representing the entire nation, only 44 women of color hold seats within the House. This makes up only 10% of the House of Representatives. However, 4 out of 5 voting delegates presiding over the House are women of color.
BY ALLIE JUSTIS ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA WETTERER
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In the Texas Senate, there are only two women of color, making up only 6.5% of the total Senate. These two women represent over 8.8 million women of color within Texas, and their names are Sen. Carol Alvarado and Sen. Judith Zaffirini.
In November, 117 women of color ran for office on the Democratic and Republican ballots. This seems to be a continuation of the same trend seen in the 2018 election cycle where there was a record-breaking number of women of color elected into the U.S. Congress. Texas’ very own Candace Valenzuela ran to become the first Black Latina in Congress this year.
18% On the Austin City Council there are two women of color that are currently serving the Austin area. Their names are Natasha HarperMadison and Delia Garza. These women make up 18% of the council and have been on the council since 2019 and 2017, respectively.
3% Of the 127 women serving in the 116th U.S. Congress, only four senators are women of color, making up only 3%. However, although these women only have four seats in the Senate, they represent more than 70 million women of color nationwide. These for women are Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Sen. Mazie Hirono. 18 | AUSTIN WOMAN | DECEMBER 2020
