South Carolina making progress to get more women in General Assembly and leadership roles

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Progress is being made in getting more women into leadership positions in South Carolina. The election of a sixth woman to the 46-member Senate in January pulled South Carolina up from last place in the U.S. in the percentage of women in its upper chamber. South Carolina women have also started organizing groups like Women in Leadership to get more of them into political office, from the General Assembly down to school boards. In 2016 in South Carolina, just seven women ran for state Senate and less than 10 ran for the House. This year, there are 26 women running for Senate and 63 running for the House.