Women are historically underrepresented in national and state political positions. But in Arizona, more women have held the gubernatorial position than anywhere else in the United States, a trend that has continued recently. 

 

There’s been a total of 24 governors in Arizona, and about 20% of those in the position have been women, including current Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

 

Nationally, a record-breaking 13 women will hold the governor title next year. This comes after governor-elect Kelly Ayotte won her gubernatorial race in New Hampshire in November.

 

Despite the increase of women in positions of political power, some women don’t feel seen or represented by their government. 

 

“Honestly, it makes me feel pretty crappy, especially since it’s 2024, you’d think they’d make a difference by now, but I guess not,” Abrial Nava said in response to the underrepresentation of women in government.

 

Nava also mentioned that she hopes to see not only more women in government but women who are younger than 60 years old as well. 

 

Three out of the five former and current women governors of Arizona were older than 60 years old when they assumed their titles. 

 

The first woman governor of Arizona, Gov. Rose Mofford, was 65 when she assumed the title in 1988. Former Gov. Jan Brewer was 64 years old and former Gov. Jane Dee Hull was 62 when they became governors.

 

Some aspiring politicians say the lack of women in government makes them feel discouraged about potentially running for office one day. 

 

“It feels like there’s not the opportunities for us to grow. It’s kind of just like, they want us there for numbers, not so much, they want us there for our expertise,” said Bailey Defoor, who wants to be in government one day. 

 

Defoor felt disappointed by these statistics given that she wants to be a woman in government in the future. She thinks that people have become more focused on having women in government solely for the numbers rather than electing them for their knowledge and skills. 

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Two women have represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate: current Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and former Sen. Martha McSally who both became senators in 2019. 

 

There have been a total of 60 women who have served in the U.S. Senate as of now. 

 

There are 16 states that have never been represented by a woman in the U.S. Senate. Before this year, there were 17 states on this list. Delaware elected their first woman senator, Lisa Blunt Rochester of the Democratic Party on Nov. 5.

 

The progress is not enough for some who say the government and public just don’t care. 

 

“They just don’t care about women and as a woman myself, they think they have control over us,” Tiffany Tallboy said. 

 

It’s no surprise that some women feel unimportant and undervalued by the government when they’ve been underrepresented since the creation of the U.S. government. 

 

In a country where 13 women governors is record-breaking, and 16 states have never had a woman as U.S. senator, it is clear that women are faced with a challenge in representation. And despite the slow and steady progress, the country has yet to elect a woman in its top seat.

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