Women’s representation reaches new milestone in PA House
Increased representation creating new pathways to lead
Rep. Joanna E. McClinton April 1, 2026 | 9:32 AM
HARRISBURG, March 31 – As Women’s History Month 2026 comes to a close, Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, reflected on how women’s leadership in the Pennsylvania State House is changing lives across the commonwealth and how today’s trailblazers are widening the path for the next generation of women leaders.
Speaking to a group at her alma mater, La Salle University in Philadelphia, McClinton, who is the first woman to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House, shared that the number of women serving in the legislative body since she was elected in 2015 has soared by 50%, rising to an all-time high of 65 this month. An additional two women are set to be sworn in next month.
“In Pennsylvania, our women lawmakers are lawyers, health care professionals, teachers, military officers, small business owners, journalists, caregivers, mothers, sisters, daughters, and aunts. We each draw on our experience to champion policies that are good for everyone,” McClinton said.
Women have been crafting policy solutions to some of the state’s most pressing matters, including protecting access to health care, making life more affordable for working families, reforming the justice system, and expanding civil rights.
McClinton added that having more women in the House has created further opportunities for women to serve in leadership roles. Currently, two women, in addition to McClinton, serve in Majority Leadership positions: Caucus Secretary Tina Davis, D-Bucks, and Caucus Administrator Leanne Krueger, D-Delaware.
Additionally, women serve as chairs for seven of the state House’s 27 standing committees. Nineteen of the committees include women as vice chairs or subcommittee chairs. Women also lead the state’s two largest regional delegations.
McClinton noted that women serve as the speaker, Senate president pro tempore, and chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and that several state House alumnae have made “herstory” since leaving the chamber, including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Congresswoman Summer Lee, and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.
“The state House is creating a pipeline for women to serve at higher and higher levels of government,” McClinton said. “It is the shared responsibility of those of us who are fortunate enough to be the ‘firsts’ to make it easier for the seconds, thirds, and fourths to follow.”
She noted that Pennsylvania has still never had a woman governor or U.S. senator.
And while there have been enormous gains in women’s representation across the General Assembly, with 84 women serving between the House and Senate — or 34% of the total seats — the Pennsylvania legislature has not reached representational parity with the share of the population at large and lags other states. In fact, in 2025, the Colorado and New Mexico legislatures became majority women for the first time.
“I’m incredibly proud to preside over the most diverse state House in history — diverse in race, religion, cultural heritage, profession, gender identity, ability, socioeconomic status, and age. This diversity of experience creates an environment where better ideas are cultivated and better decisions are made. Our state House is most effective when it reflects the people it serves,” McClinton concluded.