Latina Women and Political Leadership: Implications for Latino Community Empowerment

Mainstream studies of Latino politics have tended to reflect a primarily male view of political participation and political leadership. In such a view, the study of Latino political leadership continues the tradition of viewing leadership as derived from official positions in elected or appointed office and informal organizations. This article demonstrates that (1) contrary to prevailing myths, Latina women in Massachusetts run for and are elected to office in very high numbers, and (2) when the definition of political leadership is expanded to include community-based, not solely position-derived, forms of leadership, Latino community empowerment may depend, to a great extent, on the political leadership of Latina women. The author challenges researchers to reexamine the general assumptions and potential gender bias that underlie traditional conceptualizations of political leadership

Beyond the Gender Gap: Women of Color in the 1996 Election

National and State exit polls provide a wealth of information on the public opinions of women of color, beyond the choice of candidate and standard research questions of partisanship and ideology. Policy issues and ballot questions provide a window into the positions of voters who are women of color. (Many more than those analyzed for this paper are available in the exit poll datasets.) One of the major conclusions of this study must be to expand the political agenda of women and communities of color and insist on more representative polling with larger minority samples (especially for Asian Americans). Nevertheless, the findings presented above at least begin the exploration of this important topic. While this continues to be a work in progress, we have reached the following conclusions

Who\u27s in Charge? Appointments of Latinos to Policymaking Offices and Boards in Massachusetts

As the Latino population in Massachusetts continues to grow, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of Latinos achieving elected office throughout the state. Twenty years ago there was only one Latino serving in elected office in Massachusetts—Nelson Merced. In 1995, there were only four elected officials who were Latino and no state representatives. Today, through the hard work of candidates, activists, and Latino community activists and organizations, there are three Latinos serving as state legislators, fourteen holding municipal office, and an increasing number of campaigns at all levels of municipal and state government being conducted. While this is good news for the prospects of Latinos/as gaining influence in state and local government, a less visible but equally important question is, Have there been similar gains in Latino state-level executive branch leadership through gubernatorial appointments to top executive positions and regulatory boards

Stepping Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of public forums. And it expects to bring an effective Talent Source Database online in Spring, 2011. It has been the subject of numerous news stories, and in 2010 was presented a special tribute for vision, courage and “the boldness to act” by the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action in Boston. In May 2009, Commonwealth Compact released its first annual report, Stepping Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times. At that time, there were 127 companies, organizations, institutions of higher education and others in the for- and not-for-profit sectors who had “signed on” to Commonwealth Compact to affirm a commitment to recruitment, hiring, management and governance practices to increase diversity in the workplace. Of these, 111 “signers” completed a survey using the Compact’s “Benchmark Template”; completing these templates required signers to input quantitative data on the racial and gender diversity of the signer’s leadership team and boards, employees, customers, consumers, vendors and suppliers. The signers who filed data also answered a number of survey questions about CEO commitment to diversity; mentoring/training on diversity issues for management; recruitment strategies for identifying a diverse pool of candidates for board members and hires; civic and other initiatives to understand and promote diversity, inclusion and racial/ethnic and gender equality; and others. (See Benchmark Template–Year 1 in Appendix A). Finally, data were gathered about the size of the organization/corporation (e.g., number of employees and annual revenue/budget). Signers for the 2009 report filed data for calendar year 2007

A Benchmark Report On Diversity in State and Local Government

The Pipeline to Public Service Initiative asked the McCormack Graduate School’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston to ascertain the racial diversity in state and local government. The project had the following three goals: --To identify the race (and gender) of those holding top-level positions filled through gubernatorial appointments, e.g., secretaries, commissioners, directors, deputy commissioners/directors, and undersecretaries, in the Commonwealth’s executive offices and major departments. --To compile the same information for members of the most influential boards and commissions in the Commonwealth filled through gubernatorial appointments. --To assess the diversity of elected and appointed officials in ten cities and towns in Greater Boston with the highest percentages of people of color: Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Lynn, Malden, Quincy, Randolph, and Somerville. To determine the race/ethnicity of gubernatorial appointments, we used publicly available information to compile lists of those holding each position. We then contacted the office in charge, or the individuals directly, to ask how each person self-identified in terms of race/ethnicity. See the Appendix for a complete list of executive positions and a list of boards and commissions whose members were included in the analysis. The data for statewide appointments are current as of November 17, 2006, and reflect appointments made during or prior to the Romney administration. To determine the diversity of municipal officials for each city/town required first collecting the race of elected officials serving as mayors or members of city/town councils, boards of selectmen/aldermen for each of the ten cities/towns. We did the same for the elected school committees/boards for these cities/towns. We then identified the boards and commissions that exist in each of the cities/towns under study and identified those that were (1) appointed by the executive official of the city/town; (2) most important in terms of policy influence; and (3) comparable across the ten cities/towns. See Appendix for a list of the boards/commissions were included in our analysis; please note that not all boards/commissions exist in all the cities/towns and some boards/commissions were not included because they did not meet one of the criteria listed above. Information on municipal officials is current as of January 19, 2007

Facing Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of public forums. And it expects to bring an effective Talent Source Database online in Spring, 2011. It has been the subject of numerous news stories, and in 2010 was presented a special tribute for vision, courage and “the boldness to act” by the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action in Boston. In May 2009, Commonwealth Compact released its first annual report, Stepping Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times. At that time, there were 127 companies, organizations, institutions of higher education and others in the for- and not-for-profit sectors who had “signed on” to Commonwealth Compact to affirm a commitment to recruitment, hiring, management and governance practices to increase diversity in the workplace. Of these, 111 “signers” completed a survey using the Compact’s “Benchmark Template”; completing these templates required signers to input quantitative data on the racial and gender diversity of the signer’s leadership team and boards, employees, customers, consumers, vendors and suppliers. The signers who filed data also answered a number of survey questions about CEO commitment to diversity; mentoring/training on diversity issues for management; recruitment strategies for identifying a diverse pool of candidates for board members and hires; civic and other initiatives to understand and promote diversity, inclusion and racial/ethnic and gender equality; and others. (See Benchmark Template–Year 1 in Appendix A). Finally, data were gathered about the size of the organization/corporation (e.g., number of employees and annual revenue/budget). Signers for the 2009 report filed data for calendar year 2007. Now, in 2010, Commonwealth Compact is issuing its second annual report. At the time of data collection this year, there were 183 signers and, of these, 125 submitted data for calendar year 2008 (See Benchmark Template–Year 2 in Appendix B). As this report goes to press, 208 companies and organizations have signed onto Commonwealth Compact

Alternatives to Incarceration for Substance Abusing Female Defendants/Offenders in Massachusetts, 1996-1998

In July 1997, the Massachusetts State Legislature, recognizing the challenge presented by the problem of substance abuse for women in the criminal justice system, authorized funds to the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services for a study of substance using female offenders to be conducted by the John W. McCormack Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Since March 1998, a group of researchers at the McCormack Institute and the Criminal Justice Center at UMass Boston has gathered and analyzed a wealth of quantitative and qualitative information on women offenders in Massachusetts. This information includes data from the case files for a random sample of women arraigned in 1996 in two district courts in Greater Boston; interviews with court personnel from these two courts; interviews with a statewide sample of treatment providers; interviews with substance abusing female offenders in Greater Boston; and the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services admission and discharge statistics. It is important to keep in mind that the data from the probation case files were not limited to women who were “on probation” but included a sample drawn from all women arraigned in 1996. In addition, all data were gathered in Spring/Summer 1998 and capture the court response from 1996 thru 1998. The following summarizes the results of our study and offers a series of recommendations for court personnel, treatment providers, and other policy makers concerned with the issues of women who are both substance abusers and who have entered (or who are at risk of entering) the Massachusetts criminal justice system

Women of Talent: Gender and Government Appointments in Massachusetts, 2002–2007

Despite the high educational and occupational attainment—and considerable talent—of women in Massachusetts, the state ranks just 22nd in the nation on women\u27s overall share of top executive, legislative, and judicial posts, compared to their share of the population. The goals of this study were to (1) calculate the percentage of women holding senior-level positions in state government at these four points in time; (2) analyze the distribution of appointments by type of position and executive office; (3) provide possible explanations for the status of women’s representation in these positions; and (4) offer recommendations that will serve to promote the appointment of more talented women into positions of leadership in the Commonwealth

A Seat at the Table? Racial/Ethnic & Gender Diversity on Corporate, Hospital, Education, Cultural & State Boards

As part of its larger Diversity Initiative, the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston has undertaken a number of projects. The first was a public opinion survey conducted around the time of the November 2006 elections. The report, Transformation and Taking Stock: A Summary of Selected Findings from the McCormack Graduate School Diversity Survey, included a comprehensive look at race relations in the Commonwealth at a time of significant transition—demographically and politically. This report was followed by A Benchmark Report on Diversity in State and Local Government, which focused on the percentage of positions filled by gubernatorial appointment to selected senior-level positions in government (and on selected boards and commissions) a well as on elected and appointed positions in ten cities and towns in Greater Boston. This new study rounds out this series on diversity on governing bodies filled through appointments. For the first time in the history of the Commonwealth, however, researchers at the McCormack Graduate School’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy undertook a comprehensive study of who sits on the boards of directors/trustees of the top corporations, hospitals, higher education institutions (both private and public) and a sample of major cultural institutions. These are important decision-making positions and we are pleased to share our findings on the racial and gender diversity—or lack thereof—on these for-profit and not-for-profit boards

Women in New England Politics

This essay addresses a serious deficiency in the literature on women and politics in the United States today: the lack of attention to regional variation and, more specifically, the absence of research on women’s representation in New England. This deficiency is particularly troubling since political analysts of all stripes typically portray New England as imbued with ideological, individual, and structural characteristics likely to lead to rates of political representation higher than the nation as a whole. This essay provides a brief history of women in politics for New England as a whole; describes the current status of women at congressional, statewide, state legislative, and municipal levels of government in each of the states (with a comparison to other regions and the nation as a whole); and analyzes the prospects for increasing women’s political representation in the region. This essay concludes that it is unlikely that the New England states will achieve anything close to parity in the higher-level offices if the numbers do not increase substantially in the city or town councils, boards of selectmen, boards of aldermen, and other local governing bodies