History of the Center

The Center, founded in June 2003 and hosted at Peace College, is the first and only organization in the state to address the urgent need for women-specific recruitment, training, and mentoring to increase the number of women in appointed and elected office.

The legislation noted below and the Center itself grew from the work of the Women's Forum which produced a Report on Gender Equity on Boards and Commissions in 1996 and established a Boards and Commissions Task Force in 1998. Their work prompted a separate study by the Raleigh News & Observer (March 22, 1999). It confirmed that women held no seats on 50 state boards and commissions and, overall, women held about three of every 10 seats on state panels.

The Current Status of Women in NC Politics

While women make up 50 percent of the population of North Carolina, women are sorely represented. As of Fall 2005:

Of 546 mayors, 90 are women (16%)

Many women feel they lack the requisite knowledge to serve on public and private boards, commissions and in public office. (McLennan, 2002)

Of 2,637 governing board members (aldermen, commissioners,
and city councils) 646 are women (24%)
Of 570 county commissioners, 85 are women (15%)
Of 170 state legislators, 39 are women (23%)
In the Governor's office, there are 4 women on the 9-member Council of State (44%) and 3 women on the 10-member Cabinet (30%)

The under-representation of women is even more serious in rural areas of the state. For example, in 2003, 24% of the candidates seeking local office in Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties were women. However, only 16% of the candidates in Chatham County and only 4% of the candidates in Johnston County were women.

Nationally, the region of the country with the fewest women candidates is the Southeast.

The under-representation of women in public office in North Carolina means that the majority of public policy decisions are made without the participation of more than half the adult population.

The Legislation

North Carolina General Statute 143-157.1 provides that certain appointing authorities "should select, from among the most qualified persons, those persons whose appointment would promote membership on the board, commission, council, or committee that accurately reflects the proportion that each gender represents in the population."

Survey

A survey completed in May 2004 by Dr. David McLennan of Peace College shows that these low numbers of women candidates and women in office are not explained by voter attitudes. Indeed, a large majority of likely voters in the state are supportive of women as candidates for political office. See the survey results.

Case for The Center

Visit the Research page to read more information, analysis and background research to support the case for the NC Center for Women in Public Service.