OPINION: WV has the lowest percentage of women legislators – here’s why that matters
By Cindy Lavender-Bowe
West Virginia has the lowest percentage of women legislators in the country. That fact alone should concern anyone who believes our government works best when it reflects the people it serves.
Misogyny in politics—both loud and quiet—doesn’t just silence women. It silences the communities we represent, and it shapes laws that harm families across our state. Politics has taught me that for women, the reality is never whether misogyny exists, but how much of it we must endure to keep our seat at the table. I learned this firsthand when I ran for office and during my service in the Legislature. This reality is demoralizing not only for women in office, but for the communities we are elected to serve. When women’s voices are ignored or silenced, entire constituencies are cut out of decisions that shape their lives.
The overt forms of misogyny are obvious—sexual harassment and legislation designed to control women’s bodies. But the most corrosive form is the subtle, everyday misogyny women are expected to tolerate just to stay in the room.
Misogyny crosses the aisle, and women are often told to accept the “lesser” version as though that were progress. But both forms corrode our political system and drive women out of public life. The message is consistent: you can stay at the table, but only if you learn to tolerate a culture that was never built for you.
Sometimes misogyny isn’t shouted. It’s colleagues holding side conversations while a woman has the floor. It’s discussions redirected toward men’s ideas. It’s anger used to bulldoze instead of listen. And it’s the aggression that follows women outside the chamber on social media, where men attack our competence, our character, and even our families.
We saw this when Delegate Kayla Young, one of the few women serving in the West Virginia Legislature, was caricatured in a cartoon that mocked her appearance rather than engaging with her ideas. As she said afterward, “Argue with what I say, not what I look like.” This wasn’t about policy disagreement; it was about humiliation. The tired trope of the “hysterical woman” resurfaces whenever a woman speaks forcefully—not to challenge her arguments, but to diminish her credibility.
And sometimes the clearest sign of who holds power is what they refuse to let the public see. On opening day, the House voted down an amendment that would have required committee meetings to be broadcast via video—livestreamed and archived on the Legislature’s website during the legislative session. Delegate Young has introduced versions of this transparency proposal for years, and it has been voted down every time. Committee rooms are where the real work happens—and when the public is shut out, it’s easier to silence voices and avoid accountability.
Resistance to transparency rarely happens by accident; it usually protects an existing balance of power. And in West Virginia, that imbalance is not subtle—it’s measurable.
The numbers confirm the imbalance. West Virginia has the lowest percentage of women legislators in the country, with just 16 of 134 seats—11.9 percent. Women make up more than half of our population, yet barely one in ten members of our Legislature. Nationally, women hold about one-third of state legislative seats. The gap here is staggering.
And it matters. In 2025, the League of Women Voters reported that the West Virginia Legislature inadequately addressed key issues affecting women and families, supporting only two of 24 priority bills.
The consequences of this imbalance are not abstract. They show up clearly in our laws. In West Virginia, legislation has been introduced to further restrict abortion—including efforts to eliminate exceptions for rape and incest. These decisions are made in chambers where women are nearly absent, yet they govern the most intimate, life-altering decisions women will ever face.
This is not just about women in office. It is about the voters we represent. When women lawmakers are ignored—or absent altogether—their constituents are ignored. When women are silenced, so are the communities that elected them. That is not just a loss for women; it is a loss for our democracy.
We should not be forced to choose the lesser of misogynies. We deserve leadership that reflects the people it serves and a political culture where women do not have to endure disrespect just to be heard.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Cindy Lavender-Bowe is a former West Virginia Delegate who served in the Legislature and as Chair of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus. She currently serves as an elected at-large member of the West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee.
