The Nation - News from Nov. 16, 1988

Women made up 15.8% of the elected representatives in state legislatures and 5% of those in Congress this year, with their presence increasing at a “snail’s pace,” according to a report released by a nonprofit research group. The report, issued by the Women’s Research and Education Institute, said that representation was particularly small for minority women. Only 8% of the 1,176 women state lawmakers were black and 1% Latino. The report said that in 1983, women made up 13.3% of state elected officeholders and 4% of the members of Congress. “The bad news,” said institute research director Sara E. Rix, is that women continue to be under-represented. “The good news is that women are increasingly running for political office so we can change the system and effect a feminization of policy.”