Abstract
<div class="line" id="line-7"> The membership of boards and commissions in Missouri does not reflect the racial, ethnic and gender composition of the state. That’s according to a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545815dce4b0d75692c341a8/t/64e757836bf8db33b880a68a/1692882820764/Report_+Gender+Parity+on+Boards+and+Commissions+in+Missouri+%28with+Exeuctive+Summary+and+Cover+Page%29.pdf"> <u style="color: var(--linkColor); background-color: transparent;"> new report </u> </a> by University of Missouri-St. Louis and University of North Carolina researchers.</div><div class="line" id="line-24"> “Boards who wield the most power and the most resources … like planning and zoning, economic development, budget and finance … we call those ‘power boards,’" said study author and UMSL political scientist Anita Manion. “We find that men, particularly white men, are really overrepresented on those power boards in Missouri. The voices of women and people of color are diminished on these boards that have influence over things like segregation, housing prices, economic justice, and other issues.”</div><div class="line" id="line-26"> While women make up more than half the population in Missouri, they make up less than 37% of the members of boards and commissions. Similarly, while nearly 12% of the state's population is Black, only 5.4% of the representation on boards and commissions is made of Black members.</div>
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| State | Published - Aug 31 2023 |
Keywords
- boards and commissions
- civic boards
- gender parity
- racial parity
- local government
Disciplines
- American Politics
- Urban Studies