Banding Together to Give Women a Louder Voice

When women want to shape the public policies affecting their lives, most of them see one course of action: voting. Although serving on a city, county or state commission can be more effective, few women have sought that as an option.

“Women don’t see themselves there, and they don’t know how to penetrate the system,” said Minnie Lopez-Baffo, president of the Los Angeles Women’s Appointment Collaboration, a group dedicated to increasing the number of women serving on government boards.

The Los Angeles League of Women Voters, the Junior League, the National Women’s Political Caucus and the Women’s Reproductive Rights Advocacy Project are among the 30 professionally, politically, geographically and ethnically diverse women’s groups around the state that came together 10 years ago to educate women about such opportunities.

The group was formed after a study by the California Elected Women’s Assn. for Education and Research showed that women were not as well represented on boards and commissions as they were at the ballot box.

“The only time there was any parity was when you looked at important but traditional positions, like health and libraries,” said Susan Steinhauser, one of the collaboration’s founders. In 1989, as chairwoman of the L.A. Junior League’s public policy committee, she met with a number of women running other organizations and decided that “the city was too big and diverse for the Junior League to do it alone.” So the collaboration was born.

It has been a long 10 years and, while the group has had some modest success, they are not yet satisfied with the number of women serving on government commissions. And, while Lopez-Baffo says there must be similar groups around the country, she doesn’t actually know of one with the same mission.

Women make up 40% of the membership of city, county and state commissions today, yet they are 52% of California’s voters. Still, that is an improvement. The California Women’s Appointment Project, a group that existed during the 1998 governor’s campaign with the goal of getting more women appointed to state commissions, conducted a study to compare women’s representation levels in 1988 and 1998. Women’s service on city commissions increased from 35.5% to 39.8%, from 34.3% to 38.5% on county commissions and from 27.6% to 34.4% at the state level. (The number of women on the boards of directors of U.S. businesses and industries is smaller still.)

Xandra Kayden, president of the L.A. League of Women Voters and senior fellow at UCLA’s school of public policy and social research, said she believes women’s service on government boards is important for a number of reasons. Women are concerned about different issues than men are, such as education and child care, so “the consequences of our priorities are probably different,” Kayden said. “Women also make their decisions differently than men. [Women] tend to be pragmatic and inclusive. Men are very hierarchical in the way they make decisions.”

In addition to the collaboration, Lopez-Baffo is the president of the State Contractor’s Licensing Board; she is the first minority woman to serve on the board in its 70-year history.

“There is a lot going on in the world around us, and there’s a lot of policy and laws that are changing,” Lopez-Baffo said. “If we’re not at the table to turn them into positive ones, we have no line in criticizing.”

Linda Loe, director of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, joined the collaboration to link together women in the entertainment and political communities. Her decision to join was also partially motivated by witnessing her sister’s experience with breast cancer. Unable to work after a radical mastectomy, her sister was denied federal disability and state welfare money because breast cancer is not considered a permanent disability. Her sister, she said, was forced to file for bankruptcy and live off family and friends.

“I’ve seen so many things going on that just aren’t working anymore--archaic laws and rules. We need to help people in a new way. We need new thinking,” Loe said.

The city has about 50 commissions, concerning everything from public works and building safety to airport issues. They tend to be small, with about five members. The county staffs and directs 113 commissions, from small groups like the Historical Landmarks and Records Commissions (with five positions) to larger groups like the Children’s Planning Council (41 positions). The state has 295 boards and commissions and makes more than 2,000 appointments.

Appointments can last as long as four years and pay only a small honorarium, enough to cover incidental expenses like meals and parking. Time commitments and specific education and work requirements vary from commission to commission, but interested women “need to have the time. You need to want to work hard, you have to really care about and want to make a difference in your community,” Steinhauser said. A former attorney, she has served on the city’s Fire and Police Pension Board, the state’s Board of the Library and the county’s Law Library Commission.

“Women need to just get in the saddle and try the ride,” she said. “If you fall off, if you apply and don’t get it the first time, the worst thing that happens is you get right back on.”

The collaboration meets once a month. On May 6, it is staging its 10th annual “Get Appointed” workshop at the Biltmore Hotel. The people who make recommendations on appointments for boards and commissions from the mayor’s, governor’s and county board of supervisors’ offices will describe available positions, qualifications and application processes. Also, five women who have won appointments will share their experiences and give advice. Those interested in attending can preregister by calling (310) 535-6055 or register the day of the event. Registration is $30 until this Monday; $35 after that.

A list of commissions, available positions and application information will be distributed.