Not Enough Women Are Selectmen

Why Don't More Women Run For Selectmen

by Bill Gouveia (for the Sun Chronicle)

There is a problem in local government. Not enough women hold public office and other positions of authority in local municipalities. The question is — why?

There are nine towns with boards of selectmen in the Sun Chronicle area. My rough count shows 41 selectmen seats between those nine towns. A check of town web sites reveals 37 of those 41 seats are currently filled by men. Five towns (Norfolk, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Plainville and Wrentham) currently have no female selectmen. The other four (Seekonk, Norton, Rehoboth and Foxboro) each have one.

Men currently occupy 89 percent of local selectmen seats, while women hold just 11 percent. No community in the Sun Chronicle area currently has more than one female member of their board of selectmen.

If you aren’t at least somewhat concerned by those glaring statistics, then congratulations — you are officially part of the problem.

There are many reasons for this phenomenon. They run from the undeniable and clear presence of discrimination against women that has been built into the very structure of our society and government for many generations, to the lack of interest by many women in changing that on the local level.

To be fair, there have been many women selectmen of distinction in this area over the years. Andrea Soucy of Plainville served for 27 years. Other communities have had several women who were powerful voices on their local boards.

But 37-4? Can that realistically be viewed as anything but a problem and a warning sign? Or is local government in general, and being a selectman in particular, just “a guy thing”?

Let’s get one thing clear right away: Women have to bear some major responsibility for this great disparity. You can’t be elected to a board of selectmen unless you run for it, and locally — not enough women run. It’s not like the voters are defeating women at the polls. The percentage of women who run and are elected is probably reasonably high.

But far more men than women seek the office. Some say that is because women are not as egotistical as men and don’t need the power and the affirmation of office. Others believe it is because women are simply smarter than men and don’t want the aggravation and stress of trying to please an entire community.

And no doubt there are still some (hopefully a rapidly diminishing number) who just think women aren’t “cut out” for this sort of thing. The are much better at working than leading, or so many who subscribe to that misguided philosophy believe. Their strength is in the home, not in the town hall.

They must know different women than the ones I know.

As someone who has been involved in local government for more than 40 years, I can tell you with absolute certainty that women are a dominant force in our local communities and local governments. Almost every local citizen group formed for a political purpose (to support ballot questions, candidates, or overrides) is led at least in part by women. There are many capable men involved as well, but I guarantee you the ratio in the leadership is not 34-7.

Of course, it is also fair to ask why women would seek to become a selectMAN. This newspaper recently ran a story about the attitudes of some local leaders toward possibly changing the title to “select person” and “select board”. While many of the comments were encouraging, a few were disappointing.

Chief among them was this from Foxboro selectman chairman David Feldman: “I am not sure where we as a society are going when we start changing names or stop using words that have been generally accepted for hundreds of years for their intended meaning vs. literal meaning.”

Really, Mr. Feldman? The origin of the word “selectman” is pretty simple to determine. These were “select men” chosen to lead during a time when only men were allowed or considered capable.

Perhaps it is this kind of reluctance and lack of enthusiasm for change that keeps women from seeking their town’s highest office. Here’s hoping 2018 brings many more women candidates for our local boards of selectpeople. And perhaps a change in the attitudes of some of their male counterparts.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.