A milestone occurred when California lawmakers convened in Sacramento this month for a special session. For the first time in history, women hold almost half of the seats in the 120-member parliament.
But overall, the political situation is not so bright. At least for those who believe our elected representatives should be more representative.
When the new Congress convenes next month, California’s House of Representatives will have two fewer women, leaving just 15 of its 52 members. After Adam B. Schiff’s swearing-in this week, the Senate will become the first male to hold both California Senate seats since the early 1990s, when the historic duo of Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer were first elected. was acquired.
This decline in women’s power is particularly notable in a state where women outnumber men among registered voters and where the first female Speaker of the House and first female Vice President each got their political start in the political hothouse of San Francisco. Worth it. (However, California, which claims to be the most advanced state, has never elected a female governor.)
For Katie Porter, this trend is an unfortunate move in the wrong direction.
“California is an equality leader in protecting and advancing women’s rights, including reproductive justice, equal pay, and parental leave,” Porter said. “It is therefore surprising and unfortunate that California has not been at the forefront of equality and representation in Washington and may in fact now be lagging behind.”
Porter, who gave up her seat in the Orange County House of Representatives and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, is one of four women in California who will soon be represented by a man.
Dave Ming will replace Porter, a fellow Democrat, in January. In another race in Orange County, Republican Rep. Michelle Steel narrowly lost her seat to Democrat Derek Tran. Elsewhere in Southern California, Gil Cisneros won the House seat held by fellow Democrat Grace Napolitano, who is retiring. In the Bay Area, longtime Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo will be replaced by fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo.
These losses for congresswomen were offset by wins in two Southern California elections. Schiff and Tony Cárdenas, also Democrats, were replaced by Laura Friedman and Luz Rivas, respectively.
Still, the net loss in women’s representation has been a decline in Washington for several years. Nearly a half-dozen seats in California’s House of Representatives, once held by women, are now held by men, including in the Bay Area, Orange County, Santa Barbara, and the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
It is unclear exactly why this happened.
“Generally speaking, women don’t have a very high status,” says Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California. She also said there are often more challenges for women seeking political office, given family concerns, social norms, and (still) cultural expectations.
And while there are definitely more opportunities, more mentors and more resources for female candidates than before, there is also a “highly polarized, often uncivilized and violent environment”; “Women can feel more threatened,” especially at the national level, Romero said. Said.
Mr. Porter is in the final days of his third and final term in the House of Representatives and plans to return to teaching law at the University of California, Irvine next month. She also used $100,000 of her leftover campaign funds to launch a political action committee called Women Up, which aims to advance the status of women in Congress.
“With a concerted effort to address the lack of representation, we can make progress,” Porter said at her favorite hangout, a women-owned coffee house on Capitol Hill. . “The state Legislature did that work and we have seen the results.
“As we move closer to parity in Congress, we’re seeing similar ongoing challenges in Congressional delegations, in statewide races, and, frankly, in other parts of the country and other types of races where women’s voices are still underrepresented. We need to see your efforts.” I’m being asked. ”
Will she have the adventure to break through Sacramento’s ultimate glass ceiling?
Porter has been mentioned as a candidate for governor in 2026, and she acknowledged that: I’m a conversationalist and I’m very passionate about listening and learning from Californians. ” She did not provide a timeline for a decision.
Downplaying diversity and the classification of individuals by race, gender, and other characteristics is politically appealing, at least to some people.
But as USC’s Romero says, “representation matters.”
“I hope our elected officials hear from their constituents,” she says. “But they also bring their own lived experiences, and those lived experiences are thought to be, at least to some degree, representative of the communities they serve.”
Not that long ago, when there were far fewer women in office in Washington and Sacramento, certain issues were considered “women’s issues” and received far less attention and funding than they deserved. was not provided either. This was a disservice not only to women, but also to everyone else.
“We need a representative body that speaks to the needs of all the people it serves,” Romero said.
It is, at the most basic level, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
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