Both blacks and women are under-represented in American elected office
s. At the local and the state legislative levels, however, the under-r
epresentation of blacks is almost entirely due to the under-representa
tion of black women. Black men have achieved or exceed parity between
their population proportions and their proportions among elected offic
ials; therefore, the under-representation of blacks and women are one
and the same. Women are more likely to be elected in multi-member dist
ricts than in single-member district systems. Black women, in particul
ar, are more likely to come from multi-member district systems whether
in overwhelmingly white or black majority constituencies. Redistricti
ng to multi-member districts with black majority and overwhelmingly wh
ite constituencies, then, could aid in the election of more black wome
n without hurting black representation overall.