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Reaching Full Representation — State Rankings
Oregon is the only state legislature in the U.S. with full representation of moms with young kids. Alabama is the only state with no mothers of young children serving in its state legislature. Only 7 states have even half the number of mamas that are needed for full representation, and 23 states have less than a quarter.
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
90
16
17.78%
Oregon
needs to elect
0
more moms with young kids.

#1
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
63
7
11.11%
Nevada
needs to elect
4
more moms with young kids.

#2
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
100
11
11.00%
Colorado
needs to elect
7
more moms with young kids.

#3
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
120
13
10.83%
California
needs to elect
8
more moms with young kids.

#4
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
147
15
10.20%
Washington
needs to elect
11
more moms with young kids.

#5
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
188
19
10.11%
Maryland
needs to elect
14
more moms with young kids.

#6
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
150
15
10.00%
Iowa
needs to elect
12
more moms with young kids.

#7 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
180
18
10.00%
Vermont
needs to elect
14
more moms with young kids.

#7 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
177
15
8.47%
Illinois
needs to elect
17
more moms with young kids.

#9
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
112
9
8.04%
New Mexico
needs to elect
11
more moms with young kids.

#10
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
120
9
7.50%
New Jersey
needs to elect
12
more moms with young kids.

#11
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
201
14
6.97%
Minnesota
needs to elect
22
more moms with young kids.

#12
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
104
7
6.73%
Utah
needs to elect
12
more moms with young kids.

#13
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
60
4
6.67%
Alaska
needs to elect
7
more moms with young kids.

#14 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
90
6
6.67%
Arizona
needs to elect
10
more moms with young kids.

#14 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
105
7
6.67%
Idaho
needs to elect
12
more moms with young kids.

#14 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
105
7
6.67%
South Dakota
needs to elect
12
more moms with young kids.

#14 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
76
5
6.58%
Hawaii
needs to elect
9
more moms with young kids.

#18
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
213
14
6.57%
New York
needs to elect
24
more moms with young kids.

#19
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
62
4
6.45%
Delaware
needs to elect
7
more moms with young kids.

#20
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
140
9
6.43%
Virginia
needs to elect
16
more moms with young kids.

#21
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
49
3
6.12%
Nebraska
needs to elect
6
more moms with young kids.

#22
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
148
9
6.08%
Michigan
needs to elect
17
more moms with young kids.

#23
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
160
9
5.63%
Florida
needs to elect
19
more moms with young kids.

#24
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
424
23
5.42%
New Hampshire
needs to elect
52
more moms with young kids.

#25
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
187
10
5.35%
Connecticut
needs to elect
23
more moms with young kids.

#26
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
135
7
5.19%
Arkansas
needs to elect
17
more moms with young kids.

#27
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
186
9
4.84%
Maine
needs to elect
24
more moms with young kids.

#28
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
113
5
4.42%
Rhode Island
needs to elect
15
more moms with young kids.

#29
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
197
8
4.06%
Missouri
needs to elect
27
more moms with young kids.

#30
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
149
6
4.03%
Oklahoma
needs to elect
21
more moms with young kids.

#31
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
200
8
4.00%
Massachusetts
needs to elect
28
more moms with young kids.

#32
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
236
9
3.81%
Georgia
needs to elect
33
more moms with young kids.

#33
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
132
5
3.79%
Ohio
needs to elect
18
more moms with young kids.

#34 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
132
5
3.79%
Wisconsin
needs to elect
18
more moms with young kids.

#34 (tie)
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
170
6
3.53%
North Carolina
needs to elect
24
more moms with young kids.

#36
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
181
6
3.31%
Texas
needs to elect
26
more moms with young kids.

#37
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
253
8
3.16%
Pennsylvania
needs to elect
37
more moms with young kids.

#38
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
174
5
2.87%
Mississippi
needs to elect
26
more moms with young kids.

#39
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
141
4
2.84%
North Dakota
needs to elect
21
more moms with young kids.

#40
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
165
4
2.42%
Kansas
needs to elect
25
more moms with young kids.

#41
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
170
4
2.35%
South Carolina
needs to elect
26
more moms with young kids.

#42
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
138
3
2.17%
Kentucky
needs to elect
22
more moms with young kids.

#43
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
150
3
2.00%
Montana
needs to elect
24
more moms with young kids.

#44
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
134
2
1.49%
West Virginia
needs to elect
22
more moms with young kids.

#45
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
144
2
1.39%
Louisiana
needs to elect
24
more moms with young kids.

#46
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
90
1
1.11%
Wyoming
needs to elect
15
more moms with young kids.

#47
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
132
1
0.76%
Tennessee
needs to elect
22
more moms with young kids.

#48
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
150
1
0.67%
Indiana
needs to elect
26
more moms with young kids.

#49
Total Legislators
Number of mamas
(kids <18)
Percent of mamas
(kids <18)
140
0
0.00%
Alabama
needs to elect
25
more moms with young kids.

#50
Demographics:
Representation Among Mamas
Moms of young children are not underrepresented in state legislatures solely because women and mothers in general are underrepresented.
Of women and nonbinary state legislators, 75% are mothers, but only 16.9% of women state legislators have minor children. In the United States as a whole, 85% of women have children by age 45, and 34.8% of all adult women have minor children. Consequently, moms with young children are represented in state legislatures at less than half the rate they appear in the population, despite the fact that mothers in general are relatively close to full representation.
This data suggests that the lack of representation of moms with young children is the result of structural marginalization rather than individual circumstances or preferences.
Further, it suggests that moms of young children face barriers that are unique, or intensified, compared to women and mothers of adult children. Despite this, moms with young kids have greater diversity in ethnicity and sexual orientation than their counterparts with adult children. There are two notable exceptions:
1) there are currently no transgender or nonbinary legislators with minor children
2) there are proportionally fewer Black moms with minor children than Black mothers of adult children. Tracking variation in demographics over time will allow for future analysis on the intersections of parenthood and other underrepresented groups.
Tracking variation in demographics over time will allow for future analysis on the intersections of parenthood and other underrepresented groups.
There is a distinct pattern of decreasing representation as child age decreases. Less than half of state legislators who are moms of minors have kids estimated to be younger than middle to high school age. In 2021-2022, the birth rate among women state legislators was just 0.5%, a rate ten times lower than the estimated rate of 5% among the total population of U.S. women.
There is a distinct Democratic majority among women and nonbinary legislators, with 66% identifying as Democrats. Moms of young children lean even more heavily Democratic at 73%.