NCAN - National Coalition of American Nuns

Percentage of Women

Percentage of Women

How do women members of Congress compare to women in legislatures of other countries?

Rwanda is #1 with 48.8% women members

2. Sweden  45.3%

3. Norway   38.2%

4. Finland  37.5%

5. Denmark 36.9%

6. Netherlands 36.7%

7. Cuba     36.0%

8. Spain 35.9%

9. Costa Rica  35.1%

The U.S. ranks 21st with 15.2% women members in the House and Senate.

The Flyer United Metholdist newsletter of the Commission on Status and Role of Women,

July-Sept. 2006.

Facts That Cannot Be Ignored

* A single Mother with two children working full-time at the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour makes $10,700 a year which is $6,000 below the poverty level.

* The federal minimum wage has been the same since 1997. In those years the salaries of Senators have been raised seven times. These salaries have gone up about $35,000 or three times the yearly income of a minimum wage worker.

* Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour adds up to more than one year of groceries, over 9 months of rent, and full tuition for a community college degree.