Quite a feat! US state Nevada gets a woman-majority legislature, makes history

Las Vegas, Dec 20: We have seen women politicians taking charge as the leader of a nation to women parliamentarians overcoming the challenges of motherhood even when at work. But how many times have we seen an entire legislature getting dominated by women members only?

Yes, it is a reality. Nevada on Tuesday, December 18, became the first state in the United States with a majority of women members in the legislature when two women were appointed to fill the vacancies in the Assembly. The appointment of Rochelle Thugy Nguyen and Beatrice "Bea" Angela Duran to two Las Vegas-area seats in the legislature increased the women's participation to 51 per cent of 63 seats in the bi-cameral legislature (42 in Assembly and 21 in Senate).

Women will now hold 32 of the 63 seats, with 23 women in the Assembly and nine in the state Senate.

This is the first time ever that a US state is observing a women-majority legislature, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, which keep track of women's political representation, Associated Press reported.

New Hampshire was the first state to have a female majority in any legislative chamber (in the state Senate in 2009 and 2010).

The two appointments in Nevada will also see women making up almost 27 per cent of state legislators nationwide when new legislators take oath in 2019, as per the Center for American Women and Politics, AP reported.