Take a look at these SOTU photos:

2009:

obama-sotu-2009.jpg

2010:

rt_obama_sotu_2_100127_mn.jpg

2011:

Screen shot 2011-01-25 at 9.43.51 PM.png

Even tonight’s splash page on whitehouse.gov features Rep. Nancy Pelosi (also, nice tilt-shift):

Screen shot 2011-01-25 at 9.44.43 PM.png

It’s not that President Obama is flanked by a Republican; it’s that this moment when our government is on display fails to prominently feature a woman. Sure, women are out there on the floor, but they aren’t in the top three. This isn’t just a bad visual: Women’s representation in Congress decreased last year for the first time in three decades. And that is something we should be ashamed of.

–Phoebe Connelly

Phoebe Connelly is a former web editor of the Prospect. Previously, she was managing editor of In These Times. She writes on political culture, human rights, and feminism.