The Gender Equality Marathon: SGR's 10 in 10 Newsletter - Sept. 20, 2023
When I was in Minnesota earlier this summer to speak to the YouLead student group from Ukraine, I came across this statue in downtown Minneapolis. It depicts Mary Richards (aka Mary Tyler Moore) as she joyously tossed her hat in the air during the opening sequence of the?Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was an?iconic moment in a groundbreaking television series ?that premiered 53 years ago—September 19, 1970.
So, what made the show groundbreaking? I think you have to go back to 1970 to understand.
In 1970, a woman could not have a credit card in her own name. Due to a “defect of sex,” she was deemed too fragile to hear the grisly details of a crime and too sympathetic to remain neutral when determining guilt or innocence, so she couldn’t serve on a jury in most states. She had no legal protection against being fired due to pregnancy. Barring special exceptions, she could not get an Ivy League education, and she had no protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. And, while “the pill” was approved for contraceptive purposes in 1960, it remained illegal in some states, and in others, it could only be prescribed for married women. It was not until 1972 that the pill was made available to unmarried women. The list goes on.
Into this environment came Mary Richards—a single woman living on her own, looking to build a career, and not necessarily looking for a man. She was smart, vulnerable, kind, funny…and she broke new ground every time we watched. She was a respected professional, she asked for equal pay (and got close), she took the pill (as shown in an episode in one of the final seasons), and she got herself promoted. Yes, things were working out for Mary.
So what has happened since—not in Mary’s newsroom, but in the local government field? In the mid-1970s, only one percent of local government Chief Administrative Officers were women. By the 1980s, that figure had grown to a little over 14 percent—where it would remain for the next three decades. As of 2020, the percentage of women in the top position in local government had ticked up to 18.6 percent.*
There are many government-centered groups working to prepare and place women in the top leadership roles in local government, and more women are showing up each year. For instance, from 2013 to 2019, female participation in ICMA - International City/County Management Association increased by 77 percent. When more women get involved, there's more representation. And with more representation, women have more influence to affect change.
As CEO of a company with many women in leadership positions and Poppy to two brilliant granddaughters, it matters to me that women have the opportunity to excel anywhere, whether it's in the newsroom, local government, or any place they want to leave their mark. Gender equality is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. And there are plenty of women?and?men, including me, who are happy to see the race continue. ?
By the way, in real life Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband formed MTM Enterprises, which produced the Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as Newhart, Hill Street Blues, WKRP in Cincinnati, Remington Steele, and other television mainstays of the ‘80s and ‘90s. ?
SGR is a proud supporter of the The League of Women in Government , one of the many groups making a difference for women in local government. Have a great week, everyone.
#SheLeadsGov #LocalGov
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