Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman in Congress, serving during the 65th Congress between 1917 and 1919. Since then, 393 more women have served in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, including as non-voting delegates. That is 3% of the 12,415 people who have served in Congress since 1789.
There are 123 women representatives and delegates in the House in the 117th Congress, which began in January — making up 28% of the chamber. The current Congress also began with 26 female senators, though Kamala Harris of California stepped down to become the first female vice president and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia lost a runoff election that took place during the current term.
While the total share of women in Congress does not match that of the US population (51%), it has increased in recent decades. Today’s Congress has more than double the number of women who served in the 106th Congress of 1999 to 2001.
