But it has been slim pickings ever since. A recent study found that the United States ranks 43rd in the world in its percentage of women elected to its national legislature. Currently, women hold only 12 percent of Congress, a lower percentage than such nations as Mexico, South Africa or Seychelles. In 1998, fewer than half of our states elected women to the House of Representatives. The study, conducted by the nonpartisan Inter-Parliamentary Union, shows Sweden leading the pack with 43 percent women in its legislature, followed by Denmark, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands, all at least three times higher than our Congress.
Women also fare poorly in executive offices.
Only 3 out of 50 states have female governors, and exactly one of our largest 25 cities has a female mayor. Some propose that it's women's own reluctance to sacrifice their traditional home lives. Women also don't necessarily vote for other women. One recent survey revealed that both male and female voters still prefer a man over a woman for powerful offices such as governor, attorney general and president. While discriminatory attitudes certainly play a role, they certainly don't explain why women do so much better in some nations than others.