12 years ago I did a blog post about women on city committees. What progress have we made in the last 12 years? Less than I would have expected.
BACKGROUND
On April 23, 2007 I wrote the following:
Of the 805 appointments to the 88 Standing and Ad Hoc City Committees with members appointed:
- 499 or 62% of the appointments are men
- 306 or 38% of the appointments are women
- 82% (72) of the 88 committees have more men than women on them
- 26% (23) of the 88 committees have 75% or more of their membership being men
Apparently, I naively thought that if I called attention to this issue, people would care. On June 4th, 2007 I wrote:
Men are still being appointed to City Committees 2 times for every 1 woman.
Of the appointments submitted on May 15th that we will be voting on this Tuesday, there were 12 women and 20 men. Or, 37.5% women and 62.5% men. Of the appointments submitted for Tuesday’s meeting, to be approved on June 19th, there are 24 or 64.8% men and 13 or 35.2% women. (I didn’t count the informational appointment information or the recommendations from chairs of committees.)
Not much has changed. I was kind of hoping that we might see some change once the issues was raised. Hopefully this resolution, and the recommendations we receive, will make a difference.
2007 RESOLUTION
My original resolution was only about gender, but this resolution passed the council:
WHEREAS, it appears that men are appointed to City of Madison committees, commissions and boards in much higher numbers than women, racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the City of Madison strives to achieve balance among women, racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in not only paid positions but volunteer positions within the City of Madison; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council confirms appointments to City of Madison committees, commissions and boards;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council requests that the Affirmative Action Commission and Mayor’s Office staff study the trends in appointments to City of Madison committees, commissions and boards in regard to gender, racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Common Council requests the Affirmative Action Commission and Mayor’s Office staff to make recommendations regarding methodologies to improve the balance of women, racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in City of Madison committees, commissions and boards.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Common Council requests an annual report at the first Common Council Meeting in February on the balance of gender, racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities on City of Madison committees, commissions and boards.
REPORTS AS A RESULT OF THE RESOLUTION
Here’s the 2008 report which made the following recommendations:
1. Create a brochure that describes the city’s governing process and provides an overview of the commission/committee/board structure, explains the vital role that these bodies play, encourages residents to apply, and explains the appointment process.
2. Communicate opportunities for participation to underrepresented groups through websites, brochures and advertisements using clear, understandable language.
3. Urge City Channel 12 to expand and diversify coverage of commissions, committees and boards and to possibly shadow a committee member for a segment to show the public what resident participants on city commissions do.
4. Distribute appointment applications and brochures promoting participation in committees, commissions and boards at summer festivals, to reach a diverse audience.
5. Conduct educational programs for communities describing opportunities to participate in local government.
6. Conduct outreach programs that educate such as 100 Black Men, LaSup (Latino Support Network), Communities United (CU) and other interested community organizations about opportunities for participation in local government.
7. Review on an annual basis the membership and diversity among City committees, commissions and boards to monitor trends in participation and to determine whether outreach techniques are successful.
Sound a lot like the Task Force on Government Structure conversations that are going on now. Sigh.
And then I was no longer on the council and they stopped doing the annual reports.
(for the record, I thought they did one or two more, but I’m not seeing them)
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Not where I would have expected things to be 12 years later, based on my very quick analysis this morning.
2007: 499 or 62% of the appointments are men
2019: 384 or 57% of the appointments are men
2007: 306 or 38% of the appointments are women
2019: 294 or 43% of the appointments are women
2007: 82% (72) of the 88 committees have more men than women on them
2019: 55% (44) of the 85 committees have more men than women an them
2007: 26% (23) of the 88 committees have 75% or more of their membership being men
2019: 21% (18) of the 85 committees have 75% or more of their membership being men
That last number includes ALRC (based on legistar records) and Finance Committee. 6 out of 6 appointments to the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MPO) are men. Plan Commission is 67% men, Urban Design is 70% men. The committees that have 75% women are Community Services, Early Childhood Care and Education Committee, Equal Opportunities Commission, Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award Committee and the Arts Commission.
And I’d also like to note . . . we seem to have gotten rid of some committees over time, unlike what many people think that we are constantly adding committees. Also, the mayor has worked hard to reduce the number of people on committees and we do, in fact, have less people on committees. Of course, that doesn’t count the now 60 vacancies.
