The United States of America is often called a “melting pot,” yet this name is not always held true in politics and business. As a country that is supposed to be progressive, women and minorities should be represented more in the public eye.

Women make up half of the U.S. population, so it would make sense that half of Congress would be made of women, and half of men. This is unfortunately not true, because out of the 100 senators and 435 representatives, there are 21 female senators and 83 female representatives in the 115th Congress.

As sad as these numbers are, demographics showing minority representation are even worse. Only 10 senators and 95 representatives are non-white.

As far as history goes, the amount of white men in congress has decreased, but not by enough to show correct representation of each minority group or women.

Representation in the business world is just as dismal, if not even worse. Of all the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 22 are women and only 6 are African-American.

Gianna Picarelli, a freshman at Wiregrass Ranch High School (WRHS), finds these statistics disappointing for the U.S.

“I don’t think the United States should be proud of the lacking diversity today,” Picarelli said, “though we have advanced a lot since the start of this country.”

Opportunities for non-white people and women are growing, but are still not equal. As more diversity comes into the public eye, more young people will have role models and people to look up to.

Public diversity can also increase tolerance, because the more we see of minorities and/or women in positions of power, the less people will see them as abnormal or unfit for their jobs.

Hopefully there will be much more diversity and representation in politics and business, with more opportunities presented for minorities in our future.