The Evolution of Congress: Demographics of Power

How has the demographics and representativeness of Congress representatives evolved over time? It is known that women, minority races, and even certain age groups, are underrepresented in America, especially in positions of power, but to what extent? Has the situation changed over the decades? Through visualizations of a 1973-2013 House of Representatives dataset from Harvard database, we hope to uncover or highlight some facts about the complex demographics dynamics. Through multiple questions, we wanted to investigate a core questions:
How has the demographics and representation of Congress representatives evolved over time?

Let's Explore

What is the Distribution of Races of Representatives Over Different Political Parties?

In the dynamic race relations in America, has this change been reflected in political seats of power? The parliament chart visualizes race distribution for every Congressional session, with red tones representing the Republican party, and Blue tones representing Democratic.

The visualization shows that while Congress has remained majority white, there has been a visible increase in diversity, especially among the Democrats. What other observations do you see?

Has the Race or Gender Composition in Congress Changed Over Time?

Women and minority racial groups have historically been underrepresented in America, especially in positions of power. The visualization to the right shows the percentage distributions of three race groups (White/Other, Hispanic, and Black) and two genders (Male and Female) over time. According to the graphs, there seems to be an upward trend in number of female and non-White Congress House members.


How does the Age of Representatives Compare to their Respective District Average ?

As representatives for their community, do Congress genuinely portray the racial majority of the state they came from? The Chloropleth map colors each state according to the majority race across the time of the 93rd-113rd Congressional Session. It then overlays the state with stripes if the representative from that state with the most terms matches the majority demographic. The results show mostly White majority states with matches, with a few Black majority in the South as well.

Has the race or gender composition in Congress changed over time?

Women and minority racial groups have historically been underrepresented in America, especially in positions of power. The visualization to the right shows the percentage distributions of three race groups (White/Other, Hispanic, and Black) and two genders (Male and Female) over time. According to the graphs, there seems to be an upward trend in number of female and non-White Congress House members.


Women are underrepresented in Congress but are they also underrepresented within positions of power in Congress?

Within the House of Representatives, there are different House committees and members may serve on more than one committee. Each committee has been assigned a number corresponding with the committee's level of power, between 0 to 3. So a member may have a comPower of 0-5. The figure to the left shows how many Congress members of each gender go into each combined power level. Among the levels, there is a consistent ratio of female and male members, except in comPower = 5 where there was one member of each gender. The ratio, around 17-18%, is also consistent with the gender ratio in all of the House of Representatives.

Within House committees, there are chairpersons as well as ranking members. No Congress member can be a chairperson of more than one committee. In the figure to the left, 1 represents being a chair and 0 represents not being a chair. The gender ratio among non-chair members is consistent with the overall ratio in the House but is lower among chair members.

Within House committees, there are chairpersons as well as ranking members. Similarly, no Congress member can be a ranking member of more than one committee. In the figure to the left, 1 represents being a ranking member and 0 represents not being a ranking member. The gender ratio among non-rank members is consistent with the overall ratio in the House but is lower among ranking memberss.

How do the Distributions of Age Group , Race, Gender Compare for the Number of Bills Sponsored, Cosponsored, Passed, and Enacted?

The United States Congress is composed of elected officials from a myriad of backgrounds, yet historically, disproportionally reflected the nation's diversity in terms of race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Many argue that a more diverse Congress would enhance the legitimacy of policymaking and ensure that the rich tapestry of American experiences informs decisions that benefit the entirety of society.


Should Congress mirror the nation's demographics to ensure that varied perspectives and interests are represented?