Women in Texas government: Difference between revisions

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Women make up XX% of the Texas population yet their presence in Texas government is rare, both historically and currently.

Women have been chronically underrepresented in all three branches of Texas government. Texas has had only two female governors in its XXX years of statehood, and many prominent executive positions - such as Lieutenant Governor - still have yet to be filled by women. While the percentage of women in the Texas legislature has increased over the past few legislative sessions, the current percentage of women legislators in both the Texas House and the Texas Senate still falls far short of being reflective of the percentage of women in the overall Texas population. The state's highest courts - the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals - have similarly seen low numbers of female justices throughout their history.

History of Women's Political Involvement in Texas

In 1918, Texas women gained the right to vote in primary elections.

However, attempts to grant women the right to vote in all Texas elections ultimately stalled.

On June 28, 1919, Texas became the first Southern state and the ninth state overall to ratify the 19th Amendment. All Texas women officially gained the right to vote in August 2020 after enough states ratified the amendment to officially make it part of the U.S. Constitution

https://www.nps.gov/articles/texas-women-s-history.htm

In 1918, Annie Webb Blanton became the first woman elected to statewide office in Texas after winning her election bid for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

https://library.austintexas.gov/ahc/emancipation-and-participation-early-office-holders

Executive Branch

Governors

Texas has only had two female governors in its history. Miriam Ferguson served as governor from 1925 - 1927 and from 1933 to 1935, and Ann Richards held the title from 1991 to 1995.

References: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/15.html; https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/31.html

Candidates

Elected Executive Offices

No woman has ever held the office of Texas Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, or Land Commissioner.

https://apps.texastribune.org/2018-texas-women-candidates/

Comptroller, Ag, Railroad

https://cawp.rutgers.edu/state_fact_sheets/tx

Appointed Executive Offices

Legislative Branch

Texas has had a total of 179 women serving in the legislative branch since Edith Eunice Wilmans became the first woman elected to the Texas Legislature in the 38th legislature from 1923 - 1925. As of 2021, Texas ranks 35th in the nation for its percentage of female legislators.

Reference: https://lrl.texas.gov/legeLeaders/members/membersearch.cfm

https://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-state-legislature-2021

[ideally this is where I'd show a chart with the percentage of each House and Senate that was female]