[Sixteen] women out of 2,314,080 women in Louisiana will help to enact laws in the 2012-2016 term of the Louisiana Legislature.'
Three Acadiana women state lawmakers belong to a shrinking group of women, 16 to be exact, serving alongside the 128 men in the Louisiana Legislature.
A report from the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus reveals that the number of women's caucus members has been reduced from 23 to 16, representing 11 percent of the Legislative population.
"Women are 51 [percent] of Louisiana's total population and will make up only 11 [percent] of the 2012-2016 Louisiana Legislature," the report says. "[Sixteen] women out of 2,314,080 women in Louisiana will help to enact laws in the 2012-2016 term of the Louisiana Legislature."
The latest demographics for the caucus, according to its report, include 11 Democrats, 5 Republicans, eight black women, seven white women and one Hispanic woman.
In Acadiana, state Reps. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, Simone Champagne, R-Jeanerette, and Ledricka Johnson Thierry, D-Opelousas, represent the Women's Caucus, which includes four state senators and 16 state representatives.
The full list of women lawmakers, according to the caucus, includes:
Rep. Regina Ashford Barrow
Rep. Nancy Landry
Sen. Sharon Weston Broome
Rep. Helena Moreno
Rep. Simone Champagne
Rep. Barbara Norton
Sen. Sherri Smith Cheek
Sen. Karen Carter Peterson
Sen. Yvonne Dorsey
Rep. Karen Gaudet St. Germain
Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill
Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith
Rep.-Elect Valarie Hodges (new)
Rep. Ledricka Johnson Thierry
Rep.-Elect Katrina Jackson (new)
Rep.-Elect Lenar Whitney (new)