Introduction.(Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2012)(Brief article)

Two hundred seventy six women have been elected or appointed to the U.S. Congress. (1) Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) has the distinction of being the first woman elected to serve in Congress. On November 9, 1916, she was elected to the House of Representatives as Montana's Representative-at-Large to the 65th Congress (1917-1919). (2)

Since Rankin's election, 275 additional women have served in Congress. These 276 women include 176 Democrats and 100 Republicans. Two hundred thirty-seven (151 Democrats, 86 Republicans) have served only in the House of Representatives; 31 (19 Democrats, 12 Republicans) have served only in the Senate; and eight (6 Democrats, 2 Republicans) have served …