Demography and Diversification of Congress

The current Congress is one of the most diverse in U.S history in terms of age, gender,
racial, and ethnic composition. 23% of Congress members identify as Hispanic, Black, or
Asian/Pacific Americans (Schaeffer, 2021). For comparison, only 1% of Congress members
were non-whites in 1945. In terms of gender, women now constitute 27% of Congress
(Schaeffer, 2021). Young people have also increased their representation in the nation’s law-
making body. Thus, in general, Congress is increasingly becoming diverse as opposed to the past
when it was overwhelmingly dominated by white males.
This reduction in the dominance of white males and increase in representation of
minority groups can be attributed to general demographical changes in the US. Over the past
fifty years the population of minorities, such as Asian Americans and Hispanics, has been
increasing much faster than that of Whites. As a result, their percentage of the population is
currently much greater than it was in the past. This demographic strength has translated into
significant political power in the form of increased representation in Congress.
The increased diversification of Congress certainly affects the quality of representation. It
has been shown that Congressmen and women generally pursue policies that not only address
issues that are relevant to their constituents but also their demographic. Thus, increasing
diversification of Congress has led to a more effective representation of minority groups whose
interests could not be effectively taken care of by a white male-dominated Congress. For
instance, it has been found that older white men who have dominated Congress for years tend to
focus more on issues affecting senior citizens than younger people. Correspondingly, having
more women in Congress brings to the legislature’s attention issues that are more important to

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women, such as sexual harassment, and gender pay gap. These are issues that a male-dominated
Congress may not relate to or have an interest in.
Apart from improving the representation of minority groups, increases in the numbers of
minority groups in Congress also gives them more political power. As their influence grows,
governing parties and presidents will increasingly need to get their support in order to achieve
their legislative agenda. Such influence is likely to grow even more as a representation of
minority groups in Congress increases.

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References

Schaeffer, K. (2021, March 10). The Changing Face of Congress in 7 Charts. Pew Research
Center.