Women are underrepresented at every level of government in New Jersey, and white men are the only demographic that's overrepresented.

That's the finding of a new report out from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

It finds that while women make up 51% of the state's population, they only holds 30% of elected seats across municipal, county, state and congressional offices.

And some minority groups also appear to be significantly underrepresented Finding Asian American Pacific Islanders and Latinos have the greatest disparity between their share of the population and their share of elected offices.

But researchers say the findings are limited.

Participation by New Jersey's roughly 3700 elected officials was voluntary.

Fewer than 20% of office holders responded, and most didn't include their race or ethnicity.

The report is the result of a law passed in 2022.

But Rutgers researchers say the legislature should make the surveys mandatory