(Bloomberg) -- Colorado is on track to became the first state in the U.S. to codify paid family leave for lawmakers — a benefit that even when granted to constituents often eludes representatives, in part because state legislatures are historically male realms.

The state house passed a bill Friday, 40-22, matching the amount of paid family leave approved for Coloradans in November 2020, which goes into effect in 2024. Now both citizens and state legislators may soon be eligible to receive 12 weeks of paid leave for pregnancy or childbirth, plus an additional four in the case of complications. The legislation for state lawmakers will now need to be signed into law by the governor, Democrat Jared Polis.

In a phone interview, State Senator Brittany Pettersen said it was “shocking” that state rules did not provide legislators with parental or family leave. She gave birth in January 2020, but had to have her maternity leave approved as a long-term absence. That was proof, she said, of “just how outdated our policies are” and “reflective of a time where it was only men who were contemplated in these types of scenarios.” 

Younger generations are increasingly serving at the state level, and the percentage of women who are holding office is growing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Nationwide, women hold 29% of state-level offices, a four-point increase from 2015. That percentage is even higher in Colorado, where 45% of lawmakers are women, per the Center for American Women and Politics.

Read More: The Proportion of Elected City Offices Held by Women Rose by Just 3% in 2022

Laws like Colorado’s are “about accessibility and making it easier for people to serve,” said Jean Sinzdak, the associate director at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “And that means our representation will be more diverse because it won't be just the people who could afford to serve or have the resources to serve.”

Several states currently mandate some form of paid family leave for constituents, which can be more flexible than the more common paid sick leave policies. But unlike most high-income countries, the U.S. does not guarantee workers paid leave at the federal level, and Black and Hispanic workers are less likely than their White counterparts to receive paid leave benefits, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found. 

Read More: Only Six Countries Are as Stingy as U.S. About Paid Maternity Leave

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.