19 States Have Zero Black Female State Senators

Black women are severely underrepresented in state legislatures, with 19 states that have zero Black female state senators and nine that have zero Black female state representatives.

Out of over 1,900 state senators nationwide, only 84 are Black women, according to a new analysis from Vote Run Lead, a political group that helps women run for office. There would need to be at least 120 Black women in state Senate seats across the country to be representative of the U.S. population.

Six states have zero women of color at all in their state senates: Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Pennsylvania.

Georgia is the state with the most Black women in its state legislature: Ten out of 56 state senators are Black women, and 31 of 180 state representatives are Black women.

At the federal level, there are a record 62 Black lawmakers in the current U.S. Congress (11.5% of the total membership), according to the Congressional Research Service.

However, all 28 Black women in Congress are in the House. There are zero Black female U.S. senators.