JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – More than twice the number of Republican women will serve in Missouri’s House next session than a decade ago.

Data from the National Conference of State Legislatures show a slight increase in the number of female lawmakers driven partly by more GOP women in the lower chamber.

The total number of female lawmakers in the General Assembly also increased slightly to 48 from 44 in 2000.

House majority leader John Diehl says it’s in part due to party efforts to recruit more women, although only slightly more female candidates ran this year than a decade ago.

A leader of the Missouri Women’s Political Caucus says the about 25 percent of women in the legislature still underrepresents the 51 percent of women in Missouri. She says there’s still work to do.