Women make political history in Louisiana, but men are still the majority

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    SHREVEPORT, La. (KTBS) — For the first time in U.S. history six women stood on a national platform campaigning to become our next president. That momentum of women wanting to take on political roles continued in Louisiana. In November 26 women were elected to the Louisiana legislator, the largest number to serve at the same time. Still, today, men make up a vast majority in Louisiana politics. Of the 39 Louisiana senators only 6 are women. In the House of Representatives, there are 20 women compared to 85 men.

“That is very discouraging, said lobbyist Markey Pierre. “We saw a number of women empowered to run who wanted to address issues that are important, not only for women, but issues that are important for Louisiana to offer a different perspective. Some of them won, but a majority of them did not.”

Pierre believes the disconnect between those who ran and did not win, is due to the location and culture.

“It really depends on where you are and the dynamics of the communities that you are in,” she said. “Some are more prone to elect men.”

There are also issues that Pierre believes many women do not like to talk about, openly, for fear of going against the status quo like sexual innuendoes.

“I think that there is greater awareness of these issues specifically, but they absolutely exist and there are things that we have to overcome,” Pierre said.

Rep. Tammy Phelps is a freshmen member of the Louisiana House. Her Shreveport district has a history of women in service. She replaced former representative Barbra Norton. Phelps didn’t at first consider gender, but once in office she noticed.

“I was quite stunned,” Phelps said, (D) Louisiana District 3. “I really thought there were more, but I think one of the bigger challenges, if I were asked that question, is just being respected. You really have to earn your respect.”

Respect is something she believes she has gained. However, like anyone new to the political arena, it came with time.

“I just think that who I am and the person I am, I know I am a female. It does not really matter where I come from. I just know the substance of the things I say matter.”

In the more conservative southern region of Louisiana another woman broke barriers.

In 2015, Stephanie Hilferty was the first congresswoman elected in her district of Orleans Parish. She never felt her gender put her at a disadvantage.

“I actually received a tremendous amount of support from the representatives in this chamber, (R) Hilferty said. “They were incredibly supportive, both democrats and republicans.”

At a state level, Hilferty believes party politics in Louisiana are not as polarizing as the rest of the country. However, when it comes to why more men than women are elected in Louisiana, one political analyst believes party affiliation matters.

“You see relatively fewer women in the Louisiana legislature because, as is true nationally, disproportionately they run as democrats, almost two-thirds of them in 2019, Jeff Sadow said,

Assoc. Prof. of Political Science at LSUS. Here, female republican legislative candidates were twice as likely to win than democrats in 2019.”

To improve the number of women who run for political roles in Louisiana many agree it is going to take education and access to financial resources.

“Until we begin to have courageous conversations, things are not going to change,” Pierre said. I am excited about seeing that opportunity to see more women at the table to talk about things that are important and not afraid to have that courageous dialogue.”

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