-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's International Women's Day. So let's look at the women in the U.S. Namely Governors. The idea for a unique way of looking at the women who have served as governors came from BC Iconoclast in Canada.
First, a look at the 37 women who served as governor by their time in office through today. Bold are currently serving:
| Governor | State | Time in Office |
|---|---|---|
| Ruth Ann Minner | Delaware | 2940 Days |
| Christine Gregoire | Washington | 2927 Days |
| Linda Lingle | Hawaii | 2927 Days |
| Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | 2923 Days |
| Christine Todd Whitman | New Jersey | 2571 Days |
| M. Jodi Rell | Connecticut | 2380 Days |
| Kathleen Sebelius | Kansas | 2298 Days |
| Janet Napolitano | Arizona | 2208 Days |
| Madeleine Kunin | Vermont | 2192 Days |
| Jeanne Shaheen | New Hampshire | 2192 Days |
| Ella Grasso | Connecticut | 2185 Days |
| Jan Brewer | Arizona | 2176 Days |
| Jane Dee Hull | Arizona | 1950 Days |
| Susana Martinez | New Mexico | 1712 Days |
| Mary Fallin | Oklahoma | 1703 Days |
| Nikki Haley | South Carolina | 1701 Days |
| Kathleen Blanco | Louisiana | 1464 Days |
| Judy Martz | Montana | 1464 Days |
| Dixy Lee Ray | Washington | 1464 Days |
| Ann Richards | Texas | 1464 Days |
| Kay Orr | Nebraska | 1462 Days |
| Martha Layne Collins | Kentucky | 1457 Days |
| Miriam Ferguson | Texas | 1457 Days |
| Joan Finney | Kansas | 1457 Days |
| Barbara Roberts | Oregon | 1457 Days |
| Beverly Perdue | North Carolina | 1457 Days |
| Rose Mofford | Arizona | 1123 Days |
| Maggie Hassan | New Hampshire | 979 Days |
| Sarah Palin | Alaska | 966 Days |
| Nellie Tayloe Ross | Wyoming | 729 Days |
| Jane Swift | Massachusetts | 633 Days |
| Lurleen Wallace | Alabama | 478 Days |
| Olene Smith Walker | Utah | 426 Days |
| Gina Raimondo | Rhode Island | 246 Days |
| Kate Brown | Oregon | 203 Days |
| Nancy Hollister | Ohio | 12 Days |
| Vesta Roy | New Hampshire | 8 Days |
Looking at just how many days someone served doesn't tell the whole story. Ruth Ann Minner may have been the longest serving governor, but how does serving as governor of Delaware compare with serving as governor of Michigan or Texas?
Another way we can look at this list is by their population when they took office multiplied by their days in office through today. Those in bold are currently serving.
| Governor | State | Total Governing Pop. | Time in Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | 29,463,796,155 | 2923 Days |
| Ann Richards | Texas | 24,868,250,640 | 1464 Days |
| Christine Todd Whitman | New Jersey | 20,359,224,516 | 2571 Days |
| Christine Gregoire | Washington | 18,404,270,593 | 2927 Days |
| Jan Brewer | Arizona | 14,352,412,928 | 2176 Days |
| Beverly Perdue | North Carolina | 13,667,947,988 | 1457 Days |
| Janet Napolitano | Arizona | 12,322,430,688 | 2208 Days |
| Jane Dee Hull | Arizona | 8,876,803,650 | 1950 Days |
| M. Jodi Rell | Connecticut | 8,338,577,520 | 2380 Days |
| Miriam Ferguson | Texas | 8,265,902,000 | 1457 Days |
| Nikki Haley | South Carolina | 7,867,778,184 | 1701 Days |
| Ella Grasso | Connecticut | 6,735,262,500 | 2185 Days |
| Kathleen Blanco | Louisana | 6,611,087,280 | 1464 Days |
| Mary Fallin | Oklahoma | 3855753 | 1703 Days |
| Kathleen Sebelius | Kansas | 6,258,619,086 | 2298 Days |
| Dixy Lee Ray | Washington | 5,528,137,200 | 1464 Days |
| Martha Layne Collins | Kentucky | 5,382,863,188 | 1457 Days |
| Barbara Roberts | Oregon | 4,141,261,697 | 1457 Days |
| Rose Mofford | Arizona | 3,970,010,509 | 1123 Days |
| Jane Swift | Massachusetts | 3,808,397,025 | 633 Days |
| Linda Lingle | Hawaii | 3,643,816,446 | 2927 Days |
| Joan Finney | Kansas | 3,609,825,318 | 1457 Days |
| Susana Martinez | New Mexico | 3,525,314,448 | 1712 Days |
| Jeanne Shaheen | New Hampshire | 2,571,739,888 | 2192 Days |
| Ruth Ann Minner | Delaware | 2,303,784,000 | 2940 Days |
| Kay Orr | Nebraska | 2,290,291,714 | 1462 Days |
| Lurleen Wallace | Alabama | 1,652,924,000 | 478 Days |
| Judy Martz | Montana | 1,320,813,480 | 1464 Days |
| Maggie Hassan | New Hampshire | 1,290,511,926 | 979 Days |
| Madeleine Kunin | Vermont | 1,161,836,720 | 2192 Days |
| Olene Smith Walker | Utah | 1,001,724,942 | 426 Days |
| Kate Brown | Oregon | 805,958,517 | 203 Days |
| Sarah Palin | Alaska | 647,271,198 | 966 Days |
| Gina Raimondo | Rhode Island | 259,572,558 | 246 Days |
| Nellie Tayloe Ross | Wyoming | 157,464,000 | 729 Days |
| Nancy Hollister | Ohio | 134,853,024 | 12 Days |
| Vesta Roy | New Hampshire | 7,581,752 | 8 Days |
Some interesting things when broken down by population and time in office. Ann Richards is #14 for time in office, but #2 when you factor in population.
The population factor at the very least shows us that not all states are created equal. Let's remember there are essentially 50 different economies. Larger states are likely to have larger economies.
Just as an FYI, if Ann Richards had won re-election she would have easily taken the top spot when population is factored in, blowing past Jennifer Granholm with a population of 49,719,514,770.
