8.2.3: Descriptive Representation

The Significance of Demographic Diversity

Do the state legislators need to look like the people that they represent? Two arguments answer this question in the affirmative. First, representatives need to understand the needs of their constituents. Using the premise that personal identity informs our understanding, a diverse legislature will better understand the needs of a diverse California. Second, the legislature will have greater legitimacy because more diversity signals that many people from diverse backgrounds can run and win.

On the other hand, a certain degree of skepticism regarding descriptive representation is warranted for a few reasons. First, a simple comparison of demographic ratios of different groups in the legislature to that of the population of California may be misleading. Immigration patterns are changing rapidly, and there is bound to be a gap between a comparatively younger California population and an older set of legislators likely to reflect the immigration patterns of a generation or more ago. Second, defined demographic categories, such as race or ethnicity, may be problematic because they may group people so as to obscure diversity.

Regardless of these philosophical issues, most would agree that one sign of a healthy legislature is diversity, with the caveat that this diversity should be considered in complex rather than simply stereotypical ways. The data in Table 8.2.3.1 show that the legislature reflects the diversity of California, although whites are somewhat overrepresented, and Latinos are underrepresented. Women remain underrepresented.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Selected Demographic Characteristics of Californians and the California Legislature

People	Percentage of CA Population (2019 estimates)	Percentage of CA Legislature (2020)
Female	50.3	38
African American	6.5	8
Asian	15.5	12
Hispanic	39.4	23
White	36.5	55

(Sources: the U.S. Census and the California Research Bureau)

For Your Consideration

To what extent do our identities help shape our understandings? If we don’t share the same characteristics of the people we represent, is it more difficult to represent them well? Think of an example in your experience when you have tried to understand someone very different from you. How have you tried to close this gap to develop better empathy?