COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to a study conducted by the Center for American Women and Politics, the gender gap at the Ohio Statehouse is set to grow in the coming year.

What You Need To Know

  • The data from this study is based on the most recent election results of 2022, and looks at women who will serve in 2023 

  • According to this data, women will hold at least 32.6% of seats in state legislatures across the country. 

  • Women will hold eight of 33 seats in the Ohio Senate and 30 of 99 seats within the House of Representatives.

Despite, a record number of women serving at the state level across the U.S., only 30% of seats in the Ohio legislature will be held by women in the next session. 

"Part of the challenge is in the Democratic caucus, you know, we are usually about 50% women," said (D) Representative Allison Russo, the minority leader of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus. "That is not the case in the Republican caucus, and they have more members." 

Russo believes there could be many reasons for the gender gap growing despite the trend of more women serving in Ohio. She believes it's important to examine what prevents women, young people, and individuals from certain communities from running for office in the first place. 

Women make up approximately 50% of Ohio's population but will hold just 30% of the seats in the state legislature.

"Women give a different perspective on things, just different experiences, and just bring a different outlook that I think is really important when we're contemplating policies that impact the entire state," (R) Senator Theresa Gavarone said.

Gavarone and Russo both believe that critical conversations are necessary in order to encourage more women to enter politics. 

Gavarone has had many conversations with women who have reached out to her, seeking advice on how to get involved and make a difference in the political world.

"I certainly have talked to numerous women who've reached out, and we sat down and had coffee and talked about, you know, what it's like in the General Assembly and why it's why I feel it's important to be there in the work we do, the kind of impact that you can you can have and just let people know this is something you can do and this is something you may not have seen yourself doing or envisioned," Gavarone said.

Russo points to the many women currently serving in leadership positions and on important committees as evidence of the progress being made. 

While the numbers from the study could change depending on state legislative counts and fluctuations between election day and Jan. 2023, data suggests women will continue to increase in political roles.