A record number of women will serve in the South Dakota Legislature in 2025, based on unofficial election results from the Secretary of State’s Office.
Thirty-nine female lawmakers plan to arrive in Pierre when the legislative session starts in January, besting the previous record from the 2023-2024 Legislature by eight.
The representation still doesn’t reflect South Dakota’s population. Thirty-seven percent of lawmakers next session will be female, while the state’s population is 49.2% female, according to the U.S. Census Bureau .
The growth in female representation in South Dakota is part of a trend nationally , though most legislatures don’t have gender parity. In 2023, women represented at least half of the lawmakers in two states, Nevada and Colorado .
Kelly Dittmar, the director of research for the Center for American Women and Politics and an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University, said an increase in female representation can have a tangible impact on the Legislature’s culture and policies it discusses.