A new report from Wise Voters, a recently created bipartisan education website, shows that Alabama ranks relatively low among states for women’s involvement in politics.
The study, which ranks Alabama as the worst state in the union overall for women based on various metrics ranging from employment, earnings, safety, education, and other critical dimensions, ranks Alabama at 35th in the U.S. for women’s political involvement below Nebraska and above Tennessee.
Despite this, among other Deep South states, Alabama ranks the highest in political involvement for women.
Within metrics concerning politics, according to the study, Alabama ranks the lowest in women in elected positions within the state Legislature.
Out of the 140 elected state lawmakers in the Alabama Legislature, only 23 women have been elected to represent their districts in the Alabama House and Alabama Senate.
Eighteen members of the Alabama House and five members of the Alabama Senate are women, according to the Alabama Legislature website.
Congressional representation is also low, with Congresswoman Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, the sole woman in the seven elected member Alabama delegation to Congress.
According to the study, women in executive state leadership, voter registration, and turnout among potential women voters are also dismal.
Despite this, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who was the first woman Republican governor elected in the state and the second woman governor overall, is one of only nine women governors in the U.S.
According to the latest Census data, women make up 51.7 percent of the state’s population of just over 5 million people.
