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The 435 members of the House of Representatives will have a big impact on your future.
That's because those elected to serve in Congress are tasked with passing — and blocking — legislation that directly affects your day-to-day life. Given the stakes, doesn't it make sense for women to be a major part of that process?
Thanks to the election, the number of women in the Senate will hit a record of 21 this year. But the number of women in the House went down, from 84 to 83.
Due to this decrease, the total number of female representatives in both branches of Congress will remain stagnant at 104, or about 19% of the full elected body. And for those wondering, no that doesn't put us at the head of the pack. The U.S. ranks 99th out of 193 countries when comparing nations by their parliamentary female representation, the Inter-Parliamentary Union reports.
Don't be too depressed. There are still some victories we can celebrate heading into 2017. Once the 115th Congress is seated, women of color will make up 50% of the Democratic women in the House. The group includes Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman ever to be elected to the House, and Lisa Blunt Rochester, who will be Delaware's first female and first Black representative.
We may be a long way from achieving gender parity in Congress… But in the meantime, these 83 women from both sides of the aisle will inspire you to push to get more women elected to office.
Click through to meet them all.
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