A common school of thought regarding sex-based discrimination holds that if the makeup of a particular organization is exclusively or overwhelmingly people of one sex, the disparate outcome is de facto evidence of discrimination. In this case, the organization should demonstrate what proactive measures it is taking to increase its diversity.
In a previous blog post titled Women and girls in Seattle have commissions at 4 levels of government focused on their gender’s issues, men and boys have 0, we pointed out that there are commissions within the governments of the City of Seattle, King County, and the State of Washington that focus on the interests of women. A review of the membership of these commissions reveals there is not a single male-identifying person on any of them. The commissions, therefore, are severely lacking in gender diversity.
Lack of gender diversity on government commissions
| Commission Name | Male-identifying commissioners (as of 5/17/21) |
| Seattle Women’s Commission | 0 out of 14 |
| King County Women’s Advisory Board | 0 out of 12 |
| Washington State Women’s Commission | 0 out of 9 |
| Total | 0 out of 35 |
An observer of recent meetings of each of the three commissions took notes on the level of participation by men. There were two occasions when a man participated:
- A City of Seattle employee attended, in an administrative role, a meeting of the Seattle Women’s Commission.
- A guest speaker from a nonprofit organization, accompanied by two women colleagues, attended a meeting of the King County Women’s Advisory Board.
Are men eligible to serve on women’s commissions?
What do the webpages for these three government-sponsored commissions say about whether men are eligible to serve as commissioners?
Seattle Women’s Commission – There is no language stating whether commissioners must be women. The description of the commission as a “highly talented and committed group of individuals” who make recommendations on issues facing women in Seattle does not exclude men as capable commissioners.
King County Women’s Advisory Board – There is no language stating whether board members must be women. The description of the board as “fifteen individuals” who make recommendations “to ensure our county government takes into account the needs, rights and well-being of women” does not exclude men as capable board members.
Washington State Women’s Commission – There is no language stating whether commissioners must be women. The description of the commission as “nine general public members” who “address issues relevant to the problems and needs of women” does not exclude men from being capable commissioners. On one webpage, it says:
Board Requirements: The Governor shall consider nominations for membership based upon maintaining a balanced and diverse distribution of ethnic, geographic, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and occupational representation; where practicable. (emphasis added)
Government webpage for the Washington State Women’s Commission
What’s being done to increase gender diversity?
Many government officials with Seattle, King County, and Washington State would not tolerate any of their other boards and commissions (of which there are dozens) having the extreme lack of diversity seen on the women’s commissions. What are our public servants doing to ensure greater diversity on these particular commissions? In what ways are they recruiting men to participate?
Assuming women’s issues are everyone’s issues, and all issues are women’s issues, what rationale is there for excluding men from government women’s commissions?
Should Washington be a home for single-sex government commissions?
