November 6, 2009
Contact: Robin Hudson (919) 624-3477
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Report Shows Almost No Gains in Gender Balance in Decade
Raleigh, North Carolina — Today, the Women’s Forum of North Carolina released a new report, which studied the gender balance on the top fourteen public power boards in North Carolina.
“The Women’s Forum was disappointed to find so little progress in appointing women to these policymaking boards since our last survey in 1999,” said Robin Hudson, President of the Forum. Representation by women increased by only 5 percent, to reach 27 percentage overall.
The fourteen boards that were studied were chosen based on their prestige, size of their budgets, salary paid to members and influence in the state. Depending on the board, appointments are made by either the Governor, Speaker of the House, or President Pro Tem of the Senate.
The Forum has two overall concerns in analyzing the data:
- The proportion of women had only increased by 5 percent.
- During the last fiscal year, of fifty-one appointments, only seven–just under 14 percent–were women.
The board with the greatest change was the Governor’s Crime Commission, which saw an 18 percent increase in the number of women. The board with the largest decrease was the Social Services Commission with a 17 percent decrease in women members. The boards with the fewest women were the Golden Leaf Foundation (7 percent) and the Environmental Management Commission (5 percent). At this rate, women’s representation could dip below its 1999 levels.
“The Women’s Forum wants to alert state leaders of these findings and offer our assistance to address this imbalance. Women are over one-half of the talent in North Carolina. We need them fully involved in powerful boards that affect the well-being of women and families. These numbers speak for themselves,” stated Hudson.
A full copy of the report is available by emailing your request to: info@womensforumnc.org
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The report can also be downloaded: Board Room or Boy’s Room
