Waldron said Patterson's election at the recent convention clearly signals party members wants a new direction for the GOP.

"Those delegates from around the state saw the value in having a woman as the representative of the party going forward for this term," Waldron said.

But while women are leading the Republican Party, the GOP still has a lot of ground to make up. Several GOP women running for election or re-election to Congress lost their races last fall, including Rep. Mimi Walters of Laguna Beach. Of the seven Republican members of California's congressional delegation, not one is a woman.

And in Sacramento, Republicans hold only about 25 percent of state legislative seats and just five of those members are women. By comparison there are 31 female Democrats in the Legislature —10 in the Senate and 21 in the Assembly.