What if we just switched them all out with women? Not by political party, just by gender.
No really, what if we took every single man who holds public office and switched them with women? No really, what if we took every single woman who holds public office and switched them with men?
This is what it would look like using 2017 numbers from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University:
CONGRESS: Of the 535 seats in the 114th U.S. Congress 19.6% or 105 would be men, 430 would be women. Of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate 21% or 21 would be men, 79 would be women.
STATEWIDE ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE OFFICES: Of the 312 available positions 74 men would hold 23.7% of the positions. Six governors and twelve lieutenant governors would be men. There would be 56 men in other elected offices:
7 Attorney Generals
12 Secretaries of State
8 State Treasurers
2 State Comptrollers
10 State Auditors
1 Agriculture/Commerce Commissioner
1 Commissioner of Insurance
1 Commissioner of Labor
1 Corporation Commissioner
2 Public Service Commissioners
8 Chief State Educational Officials
1 Railroad Commissioner
1 Public Utilities Commissioner
1 Commissioner of Lands
STATE LEGISLATURES: 25.1% or 1,853 of the 7,383 state legislators in the U.S. would be men, 5,530 would be women. 22.7% or 448 of the 1,972 state senate seats would be men, 1,524 would be women. 26% or 1,405 of the 5,411 state house seats would be men, 4,006 would be women.
MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS: Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S. 22 would have male mayors. Of the 284 mayors of U.S. cities with pop. 100,000 and above, 58 or 20.4% would be men. Of the 1,362 mayors of U.S. cities with pop. 30,000 and above, 286 or 21% would be men.
Here is why this matters:
Women lead differently, we build webs of community and inclusion
Women are better at listening and asking for directions
Women bring “women’s issues” to the table, which puts the needs of families in the policy spotlight
When you go to vote tomorrow just imagine (party affiliation aside) what the world would look like if only 21% of the elected officials were men.
If you want to say something and speak out but have no idea how, check out this kick ass FREE handbook right here! #MakePatriarchyFearYou #VoteDammit
It’s Monday, cause some mayhem, raise some hell. Dr. Melissa Bird