Molina Calls for Gender Balance on County Boards

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina on Tuesday called for gender balance on county boards and commissions, which she said are less than one-third female even though more than half the county’s residents are women.

The measure does not suggest quotas but asks that supervisors recruit women for appointments and that progress be monitored quarterly. Representatives of women’s organizations said they thought it would be effective.

“Once the goal is acknowledged and women are encouraged to apply, it won’t be business as usual and the numbers will be reached,” said Tracie Tabor Lyons, spokeswoman for the Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles.

At the request of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, a final vote will not be taken until next week. However, the other supervisors said they will support Molina’s motion, ensuring its passage.

Molina said she was concerned not only by the low numbers of women on county advisory boards, but also by their concentration in what she called “traditional women’s areas.”

On the various Regional Library Councils, for instance, she said 22 appointees were women and six were men. Twelve women and two men serve on the Music and Performing Arts Commission.

By contrast, she said, the Commission on Judicial Procedures has 14 male appointees and one woman, appointed Tuesday by Molina; the Civil Service Commission has four men and one woman.

A similar gender balance measure, proposed in early 1990 by City Councilwoman Joy Picus and then-Councilwoman Molina, has helped increase women’s representation on city boards and committees from 35% to 43%, according to the Los Angeles Women’s Appointment Collaboration.

Collaboration Chairwoman Susan Steinhauser said she was optimistic that similar increases would occur in Los Angeles County, although she acknowledged that it might take a little longer.

“In the county it’s a little slower because it’s so hard to penetrate,” Steinhauser said.

The next obstacle will be preparing enough women to fill the spots that may open up, she said. To that end, the collaboration--formed specifically to increase to 50% the proportion of women appointees in the city and county--is holding a workshop on “how to get appointed” on Oct. 3.

Representatives of women’s groups who attended Tuesday’s supervisors meeting said they see gender balance on government advisory committees as critical because such appointments often are steppingstones to elective political office.