A state government commission whose mission is to improve the well-being of women in Washington was allotted approximately $300,000 for its budget each of the last two years. We confirmed this with the State Office of Financial Management. According to language in the 2018 bill that created the Washington Women’s Commission, the commission is “a focal point in state government for the interests of women”. There is no Washington Boys’ and Men’s Commission, and it is time that we create one.
See related post: Chairperson of King County Council rejects idea of a Men’s Commission: ‘Men don’t face systemic discrimination, Women do’
The fiscal note for House Bill 2759, which in 2018 created the women’s commission, provided the following budget estimates for the commission:
| Biennium | State Agency | Budget from General Fund |
| 2019-2021 | Office of the Governor | $677,576 |
| 2021-2023 | Office of the Governor | $561,056 |
We are preparing a presentation to give to state legislators and leaders around Washington that explains the need for a Washington State Boys’ and Men’s Commission. The presentation is rich in data and stories demonstrating that males experience sex-based discrimination and are the most impacted gender in a wide range of gender inequities. (See also our webpages on Men’s Issues and our blog posts on Discrimination & Prejudice and Gender Disparities.)
See related WIBM post: Women and girls in Seattle have commissions at 4 levels of government focused on their gender’s issues. Men and boys have 0. Maybe it’s time we change that.
Director of Women’s Commission earns $108,000
Governor Jay Inslee appointed Regina Malveaux as director of the Washington Women’s Commission last August. The State pays her salary of $108,000 per year plus benefits plus the cost of goods and services to perform the duties of the job. Prior to taking this position, Malveaux was the CEO of the YWCA of Spokane for eight years.
Below is a detailed table from HB 2759’s fiscal note that lays out the estimated costs for the Women’s Commission. The total costs for the 2019-2021 biennium were $677,576, and the total full-time employees (FTEs) were 2.3.
Beyond advocating for the well-being of women, the Washington State Women’s Commission is also charged with supporting the Interagency Committee of State Employed Women (ICSEW). That committee’s mission is “to improve the lives of state employees by advising the Governor and agencies on policies that affect state-employed women.” There is no comparable government committee for state-employed men, despite men being less than half – in other words, the minority – of employees of our state government.
See related WIBM post: Should any government commission be a man-free zone? (Or, Aren’t women’s issues everyone’s issues?)