Gender Diversity on Public Boards in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A Ten-Year Retrospective

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Gender Studies, grade: 1, , course: Gender, Law, and Public Policy, language: English, abstract: In 2005, the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Heinz College of Public Policy published a study entitled 'Recommendations for Implementing an Inclusive City and County Board Appointment Policy.' That study, based on previous research by the Pittsburgh Coro Center for Civic Leadership, had two objectives: to determine the demographics of boards, authorities, and commissions (BACs) in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and to issue recommendations on how to make appointments to BACs in the area more transparent and inclusive. As a result of the CMU study, the City of Pittsburgh passed Ordinance 35, a fair representation law that followed the study's recommendations. Allegheny County operates under a similar law. It has been ten years since the study and subsequent passage of Ordinance 35. It is the intention of the current research to examine the results of the CMU study, to determine the current demographics of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County BACs, to discover if the passage of Ordinance 35 has indeed improved the representation of women and minorities on BACs, and if not, to provide new recommendations for the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to achieve representation in BACs that adequately represents the population of the region. Carlow University has partnered with the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh to examine the barriers that women and minorities face in being appointed as members of city and county boards in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and to make recommendations for the future in order to achieve representation of women and minorities on boards. Through an analysis of relevant literature and board member lists, as well as a survey distributed through the YWCA, the current research intends to provide a follow-up to the CMU study, examining ten years of progress, or lack thereof, and the future of representation of women and minorities on city and county boards.

Leah Propst is a magna cum laude graduate from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is devoted to human rights issues, and has continued conducting research post-graduation. She lives in Ambridge, Pennsylvania with her two kids and many cats.