Fact Sheet: Women in Public Office, 1979

FACT SHEET From the Office of Sarah Weddington, The White House, Washington, DC 20500 WOMEN IN PUBLIC OFFICE: 1979 U.S. CONGRESS The 96th Congress has 17 women members. The 95th Congress and the 87th had 20 women, the highest number to date. In U.S. history, 103 women have served in the Congress compared to 11,400 men. Ten states have never sent a woman to Congress. Senate The 96th Congress has one woman senator. In 1979 Nancy Kassebaum was the first woman to enter the Senate without previously serving in the House of Representatives or being appointed to fill the unexpired term of a man. Since 1922, 14 women have been appointed or elected to the Senate. House of Representatives The 96th Congress has 16 women House members; 7 of them come from two states. Out of the 435 members of the House, the largest number of women to serve at the same time was 19 in 1975. FEDERAL JUDICIARY No woman has ever served on the U.S. Supreme Court. There are four women Court of Appeals judges out of 97; and 14 women district court judges out of 417. STATE LEGISLATURES The number of women serving in state legislatures throughout the country has more than doubled from 305 (4.1%) in 1969 to 767 (10.3%) in 1979. STATEWIDE ELECTIVE The number of women in state cabinet level or equivalent executive positions AND CABINET OFFICES has increased from 84 (10.3%) in 1975 to 97 (10.7%) in 1977. All women incumbents who sought reelection to their statewide posts in 1979 won their races. Governors Ella Grasso (Connecticut) and Dixy Lee Ray (Washington) are the only women ever elected chief executive of a state in their own right. Three other women have succeeded their husbands in office. Lt. Governors In 1978 a record was set with the election of 4 new women Lt. Governors, which increased the number of women in this post to 6. STATE JUDICIARY Out of about 5,940 positions in October, 1978, 110 women (1.8%) served as judges in appellate courts and trial courts of general jurisdiction. LOCAL OFFICE In 1977, 9,930 women composed 7.8% of officials at the local level, compared to 5,931 (4.4%) in 1975. The number of women in mayoralties and on municipal and township governing bodies has increased by more than 36% since 1975. CARTER ADMINISTRATION Approximately 21% of all Presidential appointments made by Jimmy Carter by May 1979 are women compared to 12% made by the previous administration, an increase of 75%. U.S. CABINET The Carter Administration is the first to have two women cabinet members at one time: Juanita Kreps, Secretary of Commerce, and Patricia Harris, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to 1977, only three other women have ever held federal cabinet positions. OVERALL Women currently represent an estimated 8-10% of elected office-holders nationwide, in contrast to 4-6% in 1975. May 1979