Interactive graphic: Gender equality in the U.S. House

How fair is Illinois in terms of gender equality when electing representatives to the U.S. House? A new study shows over the past 25 years we’re about average.

Smart Politics studied 5,325 congressional elections over the past 25 years and foudn that the number of female U.S. Representatives has more than tripled in that time. However, the rate at which they’re elected varies significantly from state to state. They also assigned grades (on a curve) to each state based on that state’s gender equality.

The study found that in that timeframe, only one state (Wyoming) elected women to the U.S. House at a rate that’s equal or greater than their percentage in the population. Ten states did not elect a woman in the last 25 years, while six of them — Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Vermont — have never elected a woman.

So how did Illinois do? We’re average. Take a look:

Here’s a closer look at the state-by-state breakdown:

Via Smart Politics