Do the People We Serve See Themselves in Us?

Abstract

At the beginning of this year, a record-setting 42 new women were elected to Congress. They were sworn into office in a historical ceremony of the most diverse “freshman” class to ever take office in Washington, DC. As stated in the New York Times, “It is the most racially diverse and most female group of representatives ever elected to the House, whose history spans more than 200 years. And it boasts an avalanche of firsts, from the first Native American congresswomen to the first Muslim congresswomen.” Among the milestones are the first Muslim women elected to Congress (Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan), the first Native American women (Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas and Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico), and the youngest female member ever elected, at 29 years old (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York). The Pew Research Center breaks it down like this.