Don’t be misled by the Mia Love photo ops and headlines touting an unprecedented 104 female legislators; the 114th Congress is still 80% male, 80% white, and 92% Christian.
Since the 2014 election, we’ve seen some depressing numbers batted around about the Saltines that 32% of the electorate that showed up to the polls to elect, but the now-resurrected Washington Post breakdown is the most succinct and depressing.
What groups are more diverse than Congress? Let’s take a look.
- New York Fashion Week
- my ex-boyfriends
- the Disney princesses
- the trailer for the new Star Wars movie
- America, the country
Things less diverse than US Congress:
- the two most posh country clubs in Little Rock, Arkansas
- the Duggar family
- Maine
- America, the band
- a KKK rally
Thankfully, there’s a bit of a silver lining; according to the Post. While Congress is still whiter than a square dance, its institutional whiteness and maleness is slowly — agonizingly — ebbing away. At this rate, by the time our children’s children are playing Call of Duty XXVI instead of voting on election day, Congress won’t need to photoshop black and lady friends into their campaign materials. With any luck, one will be right down the hall.
Image via Getty.