![]() ![]() In 2003, only 12 percent of the nation's city and county managers were women. At that time, and remember this is 1976 - women made up about half of the municipal government workforce but only 1 percent of chief administrative officer positions. The results of the report were eye-opening. In 1976, a task force of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, issued a report on the low number of female chief executives. Having spent the majority of my career in local government, I was confident that the public sector would set the bar for gender equality in leadership. Compared with white women, women of color face the most barriers, and experience the steepest drop-offs with seniority. The challenge is even more pronounced for women of color.Women are almost three times more likely than men to think their gender will make it harder to get a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead. Women negotiate for promotions and raises as often as men but face more pushback when they do.Corporate America promotes men at a 30 percent higher rate than women during their early career stages. Women remain underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline.Let me share a few of their key findings: In a study entitled Women in the Workplace 2016, conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey, researchers found that in corporate America, women fall behind early and keep losing ground with every step. In fact, Santa Monica may be more of an outlier than the standard. But I’ve been researching how women fair in attaining leadership roles, and unfortunately, our success is not shared as broadly throughout the private and public sectors as one might think. Many of us assume that Santa Monica is a microcosm of the rest of the world. I am proud to work in a community where women compete successfully for leadership positions, excel at their work, and elevate their organizations. At many of the meetings I attend, women outnumber men. Six of the 11 department heads are women, including the directors of Public Works, Finance, Human Resources, Library, Community & Cultural Services, the City Clerk, the Rent Control Director, and our Police Chief, a former OWL award recipient. Women also make up a high percentage of the City of Santa Monica workforce and executive team. And women lead many of our City’s Boards and Commissions and non-profit organizations. Laurel Rosen is president/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Kathleen Rawson is the president/CEO of Downtown Santa Monica, Inc., and Misti Kerns is the president/CEO of Santa Monica Travel and Tourism. Laurie Lieberman is our School Board president, and three of the seven members of the Board of Education are women. Kathryn Jeffery is president of Santa Monica College and four of the seven members of the College Board of Trustees are women. Gleam Davis is our Mayor Pro Tem and serves with Pam O’Connor and Sue Himmelrich on our City Council. Women comprise a significant proportion of leadership in our community. In fact, looking around the room, you would think that Santa Monica’s movers and shakers are predominantly women. When Laurel notified me that I was receiving the OWL award this year, I began thinking about what I would say to an audience overflowing with exceptional women. I am so honored to receive this award and am humbled to be a co-recipient with Amy Ziering. My thanks to the Chamber of Commerce, the Commission on the Status of Women, and all who have made this morning possible. Thank you, Julia, for that very kind introduction. We wanted to share Elaine’s remarks with you here as a way to inspire the next generation of women leaders in public service. The event is held annually in partnership with the Commission on the Status of Women as part of Women’s History Month. Elaine and documentarian Amy Ziering received OWLie Awards for being trailblazing women in labor and business. On Friday, March 10, Assistant City Manager Elaine Polachek was recognized by the Santa Monica Chamber’s Organization of Women Leaders (OWL) at its 2017 International Women’s Day Breakfast.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |