Some states are doing better than others as far as representation of mothers in their congressional chambers is concerned, according to a recent study by Vote Mama Foundation.
Even though women make up around half of the country’s population and 85% of those women are mothers by the time they turn 45, only 25.3% of state legislators are moms. When looking at mothers with children under age 18 represented in state legislatures, that percentage drops to under 8%. That may be low, but it has actually increased significantly since 2022, when only 5.3% of state legislators were moms with minor children.
“Moms with minor children are represented in state legislatures at less than half the rate they appear in the population,” said the study. “It is no surprise that American policies are failing women and families.”
Data from the report showed that mothers of young children are left out of government due to structural marginalization rather than individual circumstances or preferences. At the same time, it said their voices are “integral to a well-functioning government and achieving gender equity in politics.”
Here are the 10 states with the highest percentages of mothers in state legislature:
1. California
2. Minnesota
3. Virginia
4. Michigan
5. Nevada
6. Nebraska
7. Oregon
8. Hawaii
9. Vermont
10. Washington
Here are the states with the lowest percentages of mothers in state legislature:
1. Alabama
2. Tennessee
3. South Carolina
4. Mississippi
5. West Virginia
6. Louisiana
7. Arkansas
8. Wyoming
9. Massachusetts
10. Oklahoma
Texas also ranked rather low on the list, in 12th place behind North Dakota in 11th place.
States that saw growth in the number of mothers with minors in state legislatures were Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Nebraska. Of all the states, California is the only state legislature in the U.S. that comes close to proportional representation of mothers with young children at 17.5% of its legislature.
“Alabama, which ranked 50th in our last report, remains the only state in the U.S. with no moms of minor children serving in either chamber,” said the Vote Mama Foundation. “This means that there were zero moms of minors involved in conversations about issues impacting Alabamian families, such as childcare and reproductive healthcare.”
Throughout the country, even in states with better representation, childcare costs are more than rent. Additionally, the U.S. has worse mortality rates than other industrialized nations and is the only country besides Papua New Guinea to have no federal paid family leave.
This summer, U.S. Sen Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, joined with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to introduce two bills aimed at improving access to affordable childcare in the U.S. Britt is a mother of two children.
“Accessing and affording childcare is a costly challenge all too familiar to families across Alabama and our entire nation. This growing crisis has resulted in more and more parents, especially mothers, being forced to leave the workforce,” she said in a press release on the legislation.
For the most part, state legislators do not earn a livable salary, according to the Vote Mama Foundation. While a majority are underpaid or paid below minimum wage, some receive no salary at all. In New Mexico, the salary if $0 and in New Hampshire it comes to $200 for two years in office.
“We theorize that the demands of longer hours, little pay, and the need for a second job contribute to the lower levels of representation among electeds with minor children,” the Vote Mama Foundation said. It also said that many legislatures operate with systems developed in the Colonial era for wealthy white men.
Vote Mama Foundation provided some action items that it believes will help get more mothers in office. These include offering livable wages, providing access to paid family and medical leave, offering remote participation in meetings, offering childcare reimbursements, development of Mama Caucuses to promote family-friendly policies and making sure mothers have access to changing tables, pumping rooms and on-site childcare at the capitol.