ALBANY, N.Y. — The number of women in state government leadership positions is on the rise, with the percentage nearly mirroring their representation in the general population in six states, including Washington, a study has found.
Of the governor-appointed posts in all 50 states last year, 35 percent were held by women, up from 28 percent a decade earlier, according to the report by the Center for Women in Government &Civil Society at the University at Albany.
Researchers looked at the number of women named to top-ranking policy positions such as heads of state agencies and senior advisers and found that while women remain generally underrepresented, they’ve made significant strides in some key areas.
“The most important thing is the fact that in 36 of the states, women are doing better than they were in 1997, and by better I mean as a comparison of the percentage of women in leadership posts compared with the percentage of women in the state,” said Judith Saidel, the lead author and the center’s director.
Saidel said the rising numbers could be attributed in part to the general strides women have made in the private sector and academia, along with a growing number of women in high-level career public servant positions who are now in line for promotions.
In Washington, Alaska, Connecticut, Montana, Nevada and Vermont, the number of women in senior policy positions is roughly even with their percentage of the general population in those states, the study found.
Although three of those states — Washington, Alaska and Connecticut — also have female governors, the research didn’t show that women governors are generally more inclined than men to appoint female staff and advisers, Saidel said.
Montana is the only state where the percentage of women in top state government positions — 54.5 — actually exceeds that of women in the state’s overall population — 50.2.
The university study found that agencies in areas where women have traditionally been better represented — including health, human rights and education — still have the highest number of women in leadership.
At the same time, it found a growing number of women breaking into areas traditionally dominated by men, including administration and budget. The study found governors across the country have appointed 15 women to head departments of administration, and 10 to lead management and budget agencies.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
