About the Scorecard Project and the
Women in Elected Office Benchmark Series
Links:
Women in Local Government Report (2008)
County-by-County Scorecards of Wisconsin Women in Local Government (2008)
This 2008 report on women in local government is the Wisconsin Women's Council's second benchmark study on women and local elected office in Wisconsin. The first report, published in 2006, tracked women's status as elected and appointed officials in state and local governments at the end of 2005. This 2007 report updates those figures for the results of elections held in 2006 and Spring 2007 for federal, state, county, city and school board officials.
With this report, Wisconsin continues its leadership as one of the few states to track women's participation and progress in holding local elected office. While information is available nationwide on women elected to federal and state legislatures, and selected offices such as governors and mayors of major cities, almost no information exists on the thousands of individuals who hold elected offices in local governments such as county boards, city councils and school boards. This represents a large gap in understanding women's political participation and leadership, and in the pipeline of women for higher offices in state and local government.
We often think of state and federal elected offices – Governor, Senate, Assembly and Congress – as the policymakers that influence the taxes we pay, the public benefits and programs we receive and the social and economic climate of our state.
In fact, it is local government officials that make many of the decisions and oversee programs that affect our everyday lives – from property tax rates to public health protections, foster care programs, zoning and local residential and business development, and the number of teachers in classrooms. Who represents you and the face of leadership in your community should matter to every Wisconsin citizen.
Information from the 2007 datebase has been organized by county to create Scorecards that list the women holding elected office in state, city, county and school districts located within each County. Information includes:
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the share of women by level of government (state, city, county, school district) compared to statewide totals;
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rankings of the share of women office holders by level of government compared to other Wisconsin counties; and
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lists of women office holders by unit of government within the county.
Methodology: The figures used to compile the 2007 benchmark report and related materials are based on a database of elected officials in state, county, city and school district governments compiled between July and October 2007. These data included the database compiled for the Women's Council's 2005 benchmark study, updated with a combination of lists provided by professional organiza-tions and government agencies and information on official locality web sites (where available). The updated data-base was coded for gender based on the first name of individuals and photos on web sites. Where necessary, lists of office holders, coded for gender, were sent to local government offices such as City and County Clerks, School District Administrators and other such local government offices for verification. Some margin of error is inevitable (see disclaimer below). If errors or omissions in the data are noted, please contact the Women's Council by email at: womenscouncil@wisconsin.gov.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Wisconsin Women's Council thanks the following organizations
for their assistance and support in compiling this report:
WI City/County Management Association
WI Counties Association
WI County Clerk's Association
WI County Treasurers Association
WI Municipal Clerk's Association
WI Department of Public Instruction
WI Register of Deeds Association
WI Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association
The Women’s Council gratefully acknowledges the assistance and contributions of the
following individuals in preparing this report: Rep. Joan Ballweg; Carol Beal; LuAnn Bird; Heidi Green; Mary Ellen Havel-Lang; Jim Henderson; Dotty Juengst; Yvonne Lumsden-Dill; Elaine Maly; Jane Penner-Hoppe; Heather Smith; Linda Vanden Plas; County Board Supv. Peggy West; and Stephanie Harris, Research Assistant
Statements of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the WI Women's Council alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the organi-zations/ individuals listed above. No endorsement by such organizations/individuals is given or implied.
Disclaimer. The information and data for this study and attached materials have been gathered from a variety of sources and are subject to change without notice. Neither the Wisconsin Women's Council, its members and staff, nor any other party involved in providing this study warrant that the information contained therein is in every respect accurate or complete and they specifically disclaim any responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be contained in the report or related materials, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. You are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm the information contained within this report and related materials.
Is there something you did not find on this list? Check the Women in Elected Office Archives.
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