POLI 330N Week 5 Assignment: Representation in Congress - Assignment Graded An A

After extensive research on the proportion of women, African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and openly gay or lesbian members of Congress, I was not surprised by wha t I came across. Ever since the United States was formed, it is not a secret that white men hold the most power in Congress, but, as time has passed and the United States has evolved, minorities have gained their voice and their seats in Congress. Currently, “about a quarter of voting members (23%) of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, making the 117th Congress the most racially and ethnically diverse in history. (Schaeffer, 2021). This statistic is not a milestone; there is a lot of work left to be done. To begin with, despite the number of women in Congress, they are still the most underrepresented. According to Pew Research Center, “counting both the House of Representatives and the Senate, 144 of 539 seats – or 27% – are held by women.” (Blazina & DeSilver, 2021). To go deeper into the underrepresented situation, “49 of the 143 women serving in Congress in 2021 are women of color” (Women in the U.S. Congress, 2021). Not only do we see here that women are underrepresented, but beyond that, even more so the women of color. Moving onto the comparison of African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans, African Americans are primarily represented in Congress compared to the other minorities. As of 2021, between all races other than white, there is 59% of African- Americans seating in Congress compared to 49% Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. If I were to reflect on what these patterns say about the nature of representation, I would say that the U.S. has a lot of work to do. The United States is still fighting women’s representation in Congress while other countries, even Third World countries, have had numerous women presidents. Some groups tend to be underrepresented in Congress due to the history of their race in this country and the adversity they have had to endure. For example, “part of the problem is that Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924, and it was left to individual states to decide whether “Indians” could vote or not” (Hilleary, 2017). This confirms that there cannot possibly be enough Native Americans to represent their people in Congress because they were just granted citizenship less than 100 years ago in this country even though they were invaded by “white men.” There are currently only five Native Americans for members of the 117th Congress. This also goes hand-in-hand with the LGBTQ community. It was only in 2013 one Baldwin; a lesbian came the first LGBTQ senator in U.S. history. The LGBTQ community is still fighting for the right to marry in the United States because not all states give this community that right. That explains why there’s so little LGBTQ representation in Congress; if it is a mission for them to marry whom they want, I can only imagine the struggles to be openly gay or lesbian and hold a seat in Congress. In summary, as stated above the 117th Congress is the most diverse yet. I see a trend in which more women and minorities are being represented because of the times we are living in. Women are fighting for their rights and for their voices as well as the minorities and it would be a shame if they wouldn’t be also fighting for the right to sit next to the majority of white American men in Congress. I definitely do believe that on the representation of women and minorities affect Congress’s business. When you have lack of diversity you will probably be set in old ways, there will be no room for growth or for a different set of eyes to come up with new ideas. I believe that we as the people can address the situation of underrepresentation and strive towards equal representation in congress by educating ourselves and politics and encouraging each other to aim higher and strive towards representation on congress. Reference Avery, D. (2020, November 8). Congress will have record number of LGBTQ lawmakers next session. NBC News.