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Fewer women hold public office

MILWAUKEE – A new study shows that the number of women serving on city councils, school boards and other governmental bodies throughout Wisconsin has declined slightly during the last two years.

The Wisconsin Women’s Council study shows 1,969 women who are elected officials, compared with 1,979 two years ago.

The figures indicate women now constitute about 29 percent of all local elected officials in the state.

The report says women account for 37 percent of all school board members statewide, as well as 19 percent of all city council members and 18 percent of all county board members.

In Rock County, the percentages of women elected to office are below the state average in every category except the Rock County Board, where, the study says, 32 percent were women, and city mayors, where one out of four mayors was a woman.

Walworth County's percentages of women in public office are above the state averages in every category except for city mayors. All three Walworth County mayors were men in 2007.

In the Wisconsin Legislature, women’s presence as senators and Assembly representatives has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, according to the report.

The council’s executive director, Christine Lidbury, said she hopes Hillary Rodham Clinton’s current bid for the Democratic presidential nomination will motivate more women to run for public office.

To read the full report, go to http://womenscouncil.wi.gov.