The challenge
Iowa's gender balance requirement, passed in the 1980s for state boards, aimed to help women attain leadership positions in government, but local boards and commissions were not covered.
The case
Gender balance on Iowa's state-level boards and commissions had been required since 1987, and in 2009 the Iowa Legislature extended the requirement to appointive county and municipal boards, effective in 2012, making Iowa the only state to require it at all levels of government, according to Fearless. Local boards could disregard the requirement if a suitable appointee was not found within three months. The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University tracked county and city boards: Business Record reported that by 2020 nearly 68% of county boards were gender-balanced, compared with about 59% in 2018, and Fearless reported that representation of women on county and municipal boards had increased since the law took effect, with women holding 41% of city board seats in 2020. In the Catt Center data reported in January 2023, the share of balanced county boards had fallen to 61% (from 67.6% in the 2020 count), women held 38% of county board seats, and 62% of city boards were balanced. In April 2024 Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill repealing the requirement for state, county and local bodies, saying the focus should be on appointing the most qualified people.
Why it worked
The figures are the Catt Center's descriptive counts, not a comparison with places without the law, so they show change over time rather than a measured effect; critics of the repeal warned it may lead to fewer opportunities for women, and later data on local boards without the mandate were not yet available in the sources.
Sources
- Kestel, E. (17 January 2023). Bill proposed to eliminate gender balance law for boards and commissions. Fearless (Business Record).
- Kestel, E. (10 January 2021). All civic boards and commissions in Iowa must be gender balanced. Are they? Fearless (Business Record).
- Business Record (9 June 2020). Report on the Catt Center's study of gender balance on Iowa county and city boards.
- Sostaric, K. (27 February 2024). House sends repeal of Iowa's gender balance law for government boards to governor. Iowa Public Radio.
- Associated Press via KIOS (5 April 2024). Iowa gender parity law repealed.
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