United States of America

House of Representatives

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
No

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
435
Women
125
Percentage of women
28.7%

Speaker

Click for historical data

Secretary general

No information available

Chairs of specialized bodies

Specialized body Theme Name Sex Age
Committee on Foreign Affairs, sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights & International Organizations Human rights, Gender equality Karen Bass Female 70
Finance Committee Finance Kay Granger Female 80

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2023-01)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 29 31 33 85 85 38 7 0 309
Female 0 1 14 11 22 30 22 20 3 0 123
Totals per age interval 0 2 43 42 55 115 107 58 10 0 432
Total <= 45: 87 Total >= 46: 345
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.5% 0.2% 0.2%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
10.4% 7% 3.5%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
20.1% 14% 6.0%
Members for whom age data is not available
21
(2023-01)

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1917

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
2007

Women’s suffrage

Women’s right to vote
1920
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal
Women’s right to vote
1965
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: Reconfirming the right to vote for men and women alike (from 1920 onwards women had the same voting rights as men)

Women's right to stand for election
1788
Restricted or universal
Universal

Notes: The Constitution of 13 September 1788 does not mention sex with regard to the right to stand for election to either Houses of parliament.

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No