Women in West Plains, Missouri encouraged to apply for positions on local boards and commissions through the Appointments Project®
CONTACT:
Channing Grate, Women’s Foundation, channing@gpsimpact.com
Todd Shenks, City of West Plains, todd.shanks@westplains.net, 417-256-7176
WEST PLAINS, Mo – In the wake of a historic election for female candidates nationwide, an initiative to appoint more women to civic boards and commissions is now operating in West Plains, Missouri. Women interested in serving the public are encouraged to apply to the Appointments Project®, a program launched by the Women’s Foundation to help increase the diversity of public boards and commissions.
A free webinar for prospective appointees will be held on November 27 from 12-12:30pm. Women interested in participating can sign up at: http://www.womens-foundation.org/new-events/.
“We’re thrilled to expand the Appointments Project into West Plains and encourage all women interested in serving their communities to apply,” said Wendy Doyle Women’s Foundation President and CEO. “Adding more diverse voices to the decision-making table will improve public policy and help local boards and commissions be more responsive and reflective of the communities they serve.”
The Appointments Project will work to empower women and encourage greater diversity on West Plains’ public commissions by helping to educate and engage prospective officials on the application and appointment process.
“Local government works best when everyone’s voices are heard and when citizens have confidence that their views are represented,” said West Plains City Councilman Josh Cotter. “This initiative will help build a pipeline of empowered, qualified women and make our city government more efficient, effective and responsive to the citizens we serve.”
Launched in 2014, the Appointments Project aims to remove barriers for women to serve on public boards and commissions so they are more reflective of the populations they serve. Based on a first-of-its-kind study that identified numerous barriers causing women to be underrepresented on public boards and commissions, the Appointments Project serves as a talent bank and advisor for women seeking appointed positions in state and local government.
The Appointments Project saw a 300% increase in the number of Appointments Project locations in 2018, and the two dozen locations are now present in every congressional district of Kansas and Missouri. In Kansas City, where the program was piloted, it helped increase the percentage of women on city boards and commissions from 33-percent to 42-percent in just three years.
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