Fair balance on local boards

Gazette Editorial Board

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Beginning Jan. 1, a new state law requiring gender balance on local government boards and commissions takes effect. City and county governments are supposed to pay closer attention to the makeup of those important groups.

The law, which requires local governments to make a good-faith effort to balance the number of male and female members of those appointed bodies, has good intent.

Communities are well served by diverse boards made up of members with complementary strengths, knowledge and experience. And though a strict head count might be an imperfect way to guarantee a broad base of representation, it's a good place to start.

We hope the change in law will make local governments more mindful of the composition of their appointed bodies, not only in terms of gender but also ethnicity and other locally relevant factors.

We hope it motivates them to incorporate traditionally underrepresented populations into the recruitment process and look for ways to get more citizens interested and better prepared to serve.

Some worry that the new law doesn't have an enforcement mechanism. That means its effectiveness will largely depend on the commitment of local elected officials.

But we are leery of the administrative complications and expense that a state penalty would create. If local governments take the law seriously, it should have a noticeable effect on the composition of many of their boards.

In Iowa City, most boards and commissions already are balanced, after city councilors implemented gender balance requirements last year. For nearly a decade, Cedar Rapids has given priority to balancing boards based on gender, race and ethnicity.

Some communities might need to aggressively recruit qualified applicants for boards that have heavily favored one gender. Do it.

And the public deserves to hear of their progress - perhaps through annual reports - in making boards and commissions more representative of their communities.

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