By Bonnie Svrcek – Deputy City Manager, City of Lynchburg, VA
Last week I had the opportunity and privilege of presenting to the Virginia Municipal League’s Women in Municipal Government breakfast on the Status of Women in Local Government in Virginia. The audience was 99 percent local elected female officials from mostly cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. (It was great to have a few of my “sisterhood” colleagues in the audience as well! Thanks, Eden and Anne!)
My presentation focused on the “Impact of Elected Officials” section of the ICMA Report on the Task Force on Women in the Profession that was presented to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Executive Board in September 2014. I shared the story of how the Task Force was created—a young aspiring woman asked me in 2011 how she could ever be a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and balance her family life as well. In that moment I knew that a Task Force to study the status of women in the local government management profession needed to be formed.
With pride and humility, I had the opportunity to create such a Task Force as President of ICMA in 2012/13. The Task Force was led by Pam Antil (Santa Barbara, CA) and Tammy Letourneau (Costa Mesa, CA) and comprised of 75 women and a few brave men from around the country. I provided a snapshot of Task Force work and final recommendations related to elected officials. A copy of the recommendations and full Task Force Report on Women in Local Government Profession can be found here.
Specifically, I shared that elected and appointed officials need to begin to talk about the value of gender equity in leadership positions in our communities. I also shared a few Virginia specific data points that will now serve as a baseline for measuring the success of women in both elected and appointed positions in the Commonwealth. Among Virginia cities, 21% of local elected officials are women. Among appointed officials in Virginia cities, 16% are women. There is still a lot of work to be done to increase the number of women in both elected AND appointed senior executive positions in Virginia and across the country.
The good news is the League of Women in Government as a collective is working to first start the conversation and then help to effectuate change. And, as my good friend Kirsten Wyatt (West Linn, OR) has said, “we have a proclivity for action!” She is absolutely correct — actions lead to change – and we are here to help!
My vision is that during this inaugural year of the League of Women in Government, we can make similar presentations to at least 10 State Municipal Leagues throughout the country. The importance of speaking to elected officials is critical to our success. If you have any questions about the presentation or if I can help in any way to get the conversation going in YOUR state, you may reach me at bonnie.svrcek@lynchburgva.gov and on Twitter @BonnieSvrcek.
