The Dwindling Ranks of Women on the New York City Council

Right now, just a handful of the New York City Council's members are women — and their numbers could get even smaller soon.

According to a new report by the City Council's Women's Caucus, female membership on the council has been on the decline for several years and faces the loss of several more when they are term-limited out of office. Currently, only 13 of the City Council's 51 members are women — about 26 percent.

The report points to several factors that contribute to diminishing numbers of female council members, including a lack of funding for the Women's Caucus and the need for more effort from political leaders to recruit women to run for public office. Council member Margaret Chin, who represents District 1 in Lower Manhattan, said men also bear responsibility for the phenomenon.

"The first thing they need to really look at is that hey, are there qualified women candidates running? And if there are, why don't you support them, instead of you yourself jumping in?" Chin said.

According to the report, the greatest number of women to serve on the City Council at one time is 18 since 2001.

"It's discouraging," former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. "I feel like we've been working to get more women to run for office for so long to be at this point in 2017 where we in a year's time could see lower numbers than we've seen in a long time."