State of Women in Leadership in Idaho & Beyond
Dr. Gary Moncrief of Boise State asks, "Wouldn't it be nice one day if you could wake up and see this headline in the newspaper 'Women Dominate Elections'?That was the headline in October 1996 in Idaho.
That's not where we are now. So what happened? Is there something about the nature of the electoral process and that makes it harder for women? The research tells us
- Structural factors
- Single member districts vs multi-member districts; selectorates
- Women feel they have a tougher time raising money.
- Dr. Moncrief's research shows that once women are in the race they raise money just as well as men)
- Women feel they may not have the social connection with influencers in the process.
- There are pools of networking influence that women are already tapped into through their jobs, personal lives that can be leveraged better
- Women tend to put off running until children leave home
- That gap is decreasing
Dr. Moncrief shared some in your face statistics about the state of women in leadership here at home and beyond
- Idaho: Five biggest governments with non partisan elections in Ada County are currently 44% women
- Idaho: But there is only one female mayor in the valley and no women on the Eagle or Caldwell city councils
- Idaho: We have never had a woman governor or a US Senator
- Idaho: Currently there are no women on the State Supreme Court
- Idaho: 2 women from Idaho have served in the US House
- Idaho: Currently there are numerous women in Administrative positions - including Go Lead Idaho Speakers Celia Gould & Nancy Merrill
- National: Only 17% of both the House and Senate are women
- Global: Among national legislatures, the US Congress ranks 67 for percentage of women represented, tied with Turkemnistan, behind Venezuela, Kazakhstand and Greece.
- Every decade since the 1970s the gain is smaller for women in elected leadership
Some fascinating data about how women decide to run for legislative office...
16% of women are self starters (36% for the men)
50% are encouraged by someone else (46% for the men)
34% have to be persuaded (17% for the men)
And he ends his very insightful remarks with this inspirational quote...
"I went up to Montgomery and watched the legislature for a few days. I realized pretty quick that if these bozos can do this, I can do it." - Lynda S., Bayou La Batre, Alabama

Jess Flynn