Mass. Women Mayors Break Gender Barriers, Convene at UMass

E. Denise Simmons of Cambridge is the first African American female mayor in the history of Massachusetts. (Photo from cambridgema.gov)

WOMEN APPOINTEES IN SENIOR-LEVEL STATE GOVERNMENT IN MASS.

■ Between January 2002 and July 2004, 14 (42%) of Gov. Romney's first 33 appointments to senior-level positions were women.

■ From 2004 to 2006, women made up just 25% of Gov. Romney's 64 new appointments.

■ From Jan. 2007 to Sep. 13, 2007, 27 (45%) of Gov. Patrick's 60 new appointees were women.

■ Women currently hold 33.6% of senior-level positions in state government.

■ The percentage of secretaries of executive offices (e.g, Health & Human Services) who were women rose from 12.5% in 2002, to 37.5% in 2004, back to 12.5% in 2006, and then up to 33.3% in 2007.

■ The percentage of women appointees on boards and commissions dropped from 35.3% in 2002 to 23.9% in 2006, but then rose again in 2007 to 27.1%.

■ From 2002 to 2007, women appointees to the traditionally "male" offices of Public Safety and Transportation/Construction were generally the lowest.

■ In 2007, the greatest increase in female appointees, 50%, was in the offices of Environmental Affairs and Health and Human Services (including Elder Affairs).

Source: C. Hardy-Fanta and K. Kelly, "Women of Talent: A Benchmark Report on Gender and Government Appointments in Massachusetts 2002-2007," Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy and Mass. Government Appointments Project (MassGAP)

Women comprise 52% of Massachusetts' population, yet less than half of them - only 20% - hold jobs in elected government office as town/city councilors, board selectmen/alderman and other positions.

Nevertheless, 11 women mayors in the state have broken down the gender barriers - and seven of them met in person for the "Women Mayors of Massachusetts: Making History, Meeting Challenge" event and discussion of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy (CWPPP) of the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

Two of the 11 women are the first female mayors of color for their respective cities and the state of Massachusetts: E. Denise Simmons (left) of Cambridge and Lisa Wong (below) of Fitchburg.

"The world is a competitive one and....I am so pleased to see other strong women leading similiar cities [like Fitchburg,] facing similiar struggles," said Wong in an e-mail to EthnicNewz.org. "There is opportunity in these cities and an even greater opportunity to inspire future leaders to...be involved with our local communities."

Six other mayors joined Simmons at the CWPPP event on March 11, 2008: Kimberley Driscoll of Salem, Clare Higgins of Northampton, Susan M. Kay of Weymouth, Carolyn Kirk of Gloucester, Jeannette McCarthy of Waltham, and Nancy Stevens of Marlborough.

Alison King, political reporter for NECN TV, moderated the discussion.

At the event, the CWPPP noted the 20% participation rate of women in elected government office statewide.

Though relatively low, the rate belies a slight increase in women elected-government-office holders at the local level, from 19.6% in 2005 to the current 20.6%.

Furthermore, women make up 25% of all mayors in Massachusetts.

Carol Hardy-Fanta, director of the CWPPP, said in a press statement, "At a time when there is so much focus on gender and race in the presidential campaign, it's important to remember [former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives] Tip O'Neill's famous quote: ‘All politics is local.' In Massachusetts today, one in four mayors is a woman - and, for the first time, we have an African American woman and an Asian American woman serving at the highest level of municipal government."

The CWPPP, which studies and tracks the participation of women in government locally and nationwide, hosted the panel and discussion in honor of International Women's Day, Women's History Month, and the CWPPP's 25th Women's Research Forum.

To learn more about women in government or the CWPPP, please visit mccormacktmp.umb.edu/cwppp.

Mayor E. Denise Simmons of Cambridge could not be reached for comment for this story.

source: EthnicNewz.org

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Lisa Wong of Fitchburg, the first female Asian mayor in Massachusetts (NEWz courtesy photo: Office of Mayor Wong)