Wyoming has a lot going for it when it comes to giving women access to political office. We are nicknamed the Equality State for a reason. Wyoming was the first to give women the right to vote in 1869. Nellie Tayloe Ross was the first female Governor in Wyoming and the US. Right now Cynthia Lummis holds office in the US House of Representatives.

Looking at a map from Vox.com something becomes apparent. The Equality state hasn’t had a female US Senator.

If you remember from civics class, each state gets 2 Senators giving each the same amount of power. US House of Representatives gives states with more people more representatives. In the Equality State we have 2 Senators (like everyone else.) Since Wyoming is the least populous state, we get the fewest reps in the house. The Cowboy State has one representative out of the 435 total.

For Wyoming we have the most  “bang for your buck” in the US Senate. Any one Wyoming Senator controls 1% of the total votes. As far as US House, our one representative controls 0.229% of the total votes. Of course, all of this is pure mathematical and ignores things like party lines, political agenda, thoughts of constituents, or influence from lobbyist.

The website Representation2020.com placed Wyoming at 21st place. The Equality state is not 100% equal. Nothing is ever perfect - especially in politics. We sure do have a good start with the first woman governor and the first state to give women the right to vote, but there is always room for improvement.

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