How many women hold elected office in Wisconsin? Here are the stats

Women hold 27% of elected offices in Wisconsin, an increase from 20 years ago but still far below their share of the state population.

That's according to a new report by the Wisconsin Women's Council , which is made up of 15 members selected by the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders.

"Representation shapes policy priorities, public trust, and the legitimacy of democratic institutions," Jeanne Duffy, the council's executive director, said in a news release. "This report is both a record of progress and a call to action."

The report found two notable achievements.

Wisconsin exceeds the national average for women's representation in the state Legislature. In 2025, women held 45 of the 132 seats, or 34%, compared to 32.8% nationally.

Wisconsin also has the highest percentage of female state Supreme Court justices in the country, with six of the seven seats held by women. That will remain true after the April 7 election ; both candidates running for an open seat on the bench are women.

Women have had the most gains across the judicial branch but lag in top law enforcement roles. The number of women who are judges jumped from 39 in 2005 to 106 in 2025, now comprising 37% of judges statewide.

Here are other highlights from the report, released March 9, one day after International Women's Day:

• Women hold 25% of county board seats statewide, though Milwaukee and Menominee counties are above 50%. Fewer than 10% of county board chairs are women.

• Wisconsin has 25 women serving as county district attorneys, up from eight in 2015. Still, most counties have never elected a woman to that role, the report found.

• Six of Wisconsin's 72 counties have women elected as sheriff. For most of the last 20 years, one or two women held that role statewide.

• Gains have been gradual in local government, including mayors, up from 13% in 2005 to 20% in 2025. The report notes local government is often the first step into politics.

• Women hold 44% of leadership positions across Wisconsin's 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations, close to gender parity.

The council defines gender parity as women holding 50% of elected offices, equal to their share of the state population. Overall, representation steadily increased from 19% in 2005 to 21% in 2015 to 25% in 2021.

Women have come close to parity on school boards, holding 47% of those seats that oversee policies for K-12 public schools, compared to 37% in 2005.

The report noted no woman has ever been elected governor in Wisconsin. The candidate field for the 2026 governor's race includes four women, all on the Democratic side.

The council suggests strategies like child care support and intentional party recruitment to support women candidates.

"Taken as a whole, the data from 2005 to 2025 illustrate incremental improvement rather than transformative change, underscoring the persistence of structural and cultural barriers to women achieving political parity," the report reads.

Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Women making some gains on holding elected office in Wisconsin