How many women were in the US Senate in 2015?

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. How surprising is this information?

3. What trend do you see in this chart?

4. Is this good or bad news?

5. Since the 2016 election, the number of female Senators has increased to 21, the most ever. What do you think this data will look like in 50 years?

6. Half of the US population is female. Why do you think only 20% of the Senate is female?

7. Is there anything specific to the US electoral process that explain why the number of women in the Senate is so much lower than the proportion of women in the population?

8. What are two consequences of the Senate being 80% male?

9. Imagine that the Senate was 20% instead of 20% female. What changes in the legislature do you believe would happen?

10. What do you think this data looked like 50 years ago?

11. 14 of the female Senators are Democrats, 6 Republicans. Does this surprise you?

12. Other countries have increased the number of women in their legislature by (wo)mandating that for every male a political party runs for office, they must also run a female. Explain whether you believe this is a good idea:

Learning Extension

Check out the Rutgers University site on the history of women in the Senate.

Action Extension

Based on the Guardian guide to the 20 current female Senators, rank your top three best female US Senators.

Bonus Chart