By the numbers, women don’t fare well in South Carolina’s political system:

• ; The state ranks last in the nation in the rate of women in political office. The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research ranks South Carolina 50th in office-holding and 46th overall in the status of women.

• ; Only 14 of 124 members of the S.C. House are women; women hold two of 46 S.C. Senate seats.

• ; No women are in the state’s eight-man congressional delegation. Democrat Liz Patterson was the last woman in the delegation, representing the Upstate 4th Congressional District from 1987 to 1993.

• ; State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum is the only woman currently elected to statewide office.

• ; Gov. Mark Sanford eliminated funding in June for the only state agency that focused on women’s issues, the S.C. Commission on Women. The commission continues to exist in name, but lost its two full-time staff positions and its $99,955 budget.

• ; The governor’s full-time, paid executive staff includes four women and 16 men. The average salary among the men is $71,010. The average salary for the women is $59,751.