NPR did a nice article about women in Congress over the years. The link is above.
While obviously, the people representing us can not mirror our ages---the people represented are age 0-120, but they can mirror everything else, race, sex, economic level--at least when they start (politics seems to be a good way to get ahead, eventually), sexual orientation, marital status, religion---us, ALL of US.
The country, our USA is 50.73% women and 49.27% male.
We are 59.70% white, and 13.45% black, 6.02 % Asian, 1.27% native American, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 2.8% mixed race, and 18.73% Hispanic (and Hispanic has been pulled out of whatever racial group they would have been in because apparently speaking Spanish trumps (pun intended) race, which is genetically speaking not really a scientific thing.
We are also religiously diverse with 70.6% identifying as Christian (29.4% percent don't identify as Christian--that is more than voted for our current president in 2016).
That is divided by denomination:
Evangelicals 25.4%
Traditional Protestant 14.7%
Black Protestant 6.5%
Catholic 20.8%
Morman 1.6%
Orthodox 0.5%
Jehovahs Witness 0.8% ( a small group, but very annoying on relaxing Sunday mornings and their tracts have terrible artwork on them)
Jewish 1.9%
Muslim 0.9%
Buddhist 0.7%
Hindu 0.7%
Other world religions 1.8%
No religion 23.4%
Our current, as of the 2018 election, Congress is not nearly this diverse.
https://www.amny.com/news/politics/115th-congress-house-senate-leaders-and-demographics-1.12841856
The above link is to the congress from 2017 to now, I'm not finding more than the NPR link to show the 116 congressional makeup.
Amazingly, while a good number of registered voters are neither democrats or republicans, they are not always represented because our congress is all about the party. The entire House was 2 party and there were 2 independents in the senate. I have found nothing about religion of the senators and representatives, since religion is not supposed to be hooked to our government, but I live in a state where religion is touted heavily by campaigning politicians.
Party affiliation is also not at all reflected in our congress. At the 2016 presidential election, we were 27% republican, 31% democrat and 36% independent. By the last election, November 2018 we were 28% republican, 31% democrat and 39% independent.
A breakdown of the just ended 115th congress is:
House of Representatives (435 total)
Parties: Republican: 241 (55.40%); Democrat: 194 (44.60%); Independent: 0 (0%)
Gender: Men: 352 (81%) now 335 (77%) but to reflect us, should be 49.27% or 214 men; Women: 83 (19%), now 100 (23%) but to reflect us should be 220 (50.73%)
Race: White: 339 (77.9%) which should only be 260 (59.7%); Black : 46(10.5%) which should be 59 representatives (13.45%); Hispanic: 33 (7.59%) which should be 81 (18.73%); Asian: 10 (2.3%) which should be 26 (6.02%); Other: 3 (0.7%) which should be 18.
Senate (100 total)
Parties: Republican: 52 (52%) went up by one for 2019 but should be 28; Democrat: 46 (46%) went down by one but should be 31; Independent: 2 (2%) but should be 39
Gender: Men: 78 but should be 50; Women: 21 but should be 50 but only went up to 22.
Race: White: 90 but should be 60; Black: 3 but should be 13; Hispanic: 4 but should be 19; Asian: 3 but should be 6 and other, currently 0 but should be 4.
To understand who we are as a nation requires we interact with people not like ourselves. We are a diverse nation built on a diverse foundation. And while we have not always recognized everyone, it is long past time that we become the country our founding fathers idealized whether they made it real or not.
What I have left out is the way that economic and educational levels are not represented. The house was a collection of rich white men that had no idea what getting ahead as a poor person of color entailed. They did not fear their children being shot at routine traffic stops or the mothers of their children going to jail over a bounced check because no one had bail.
Their parents made sure they went to college because they could.
BUTTTTTTT we currently have a shutdown government due to a crazy man wanting to please his fan base, the 27% of voters that got him where he is.
He wants 5 billion dollars for this wall he promised, 5 billion after the giant tax break to the wealthy, so the budget is already strapped.
We need a congress that will stand up for all of us.
That will pass sensible bills that benefit us all and that will use their ability to get past the presidential veto power.
Congress must approve the returned bill by a two-thirds majority in both Houses. Once the bill receives this approval, it becomes a law.
Loyalty to a tyrant, especially a childish tyrant is not any part of representing the people of this country.
We need the 116th congress to stand up like the equally powerful branch of our government it was meant to be. The Congress is not the executive branch's rubber stamp.
Do the job for all of us.
You have the power to be superheroes.
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