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Mayor forms advisory council on women's issues

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By HILARY KINDSCHUH / Lincoln Journal Star

Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 - 04:41:30 pm CDT

Mayor Chris Beutler announced Thursday the formation of a 15-member advisory committee on issues affecting women — a move that follows the disbanding of the Lincoln-Lancaster Women’s Commission.

“While the women’s commission has gone away, the needs have not,” Beutler said. “My new commission is a reflection of my commitment to a Lincoln that provides opportunity for all its citizens.”

The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners cut funding for the commission in July, and the City Council ended support in August.

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Chris Beutler

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Beutler announces Commission on Women

Mayor Chris Beutler today announced the formation of the Mayor's Commission on Women, a 15-member group to advise him on issues impacting women an...

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The mayor's executive order

Members of the Mayor’s Commission on Women, who will be appointed for a one-year term, will be representatives of the community with knowledge of social, economic and legal barriers affecting women. They shall inform the mayor and city departments of these issues and suggest ways to eliminate such barriers. The commission will coordinate efforts of numerous women’s organizations interested in the welfare of women and support the city’s efforts to improve working conditions, financial security and legal status of both genders.

Commission success

Mayor Chris Beutler cited a few accomplishments of the former Lincoln-Lancaster Women’s Commission, which established:
  • A task force to help primary caregivers find quality child care.
  • “Men Speak Out Against Violence,” an effort to provide training to help curb male violence against women.
  • “A Place at the Table,” a comprehensive look at women in leadership in the Lincoln-Lancaster area providing valuable information for public policy decisions.

The new Mayor’s Commission on Women won’t have the city’s financial resources behind it, but “the power of their ideas will help shape my administration’s policy,” the mayor said.

Beutler will appoint many former commission members — including former director Bonnie Coffey — to the committee.

A group like the women’s commission was absolutely necessary, Coffey said, “because women are disproportionately impacted by what’s going on in the community.”

Nebraska ranks third in the country for the percentage of women in the work force — but 49th for the percentage of women in managerial and professional jobs, and 41st for pay equity in women’s wages, Coffey said.

A lot of people were not supportive of the commission because they thought it should be privately funded, Coffey said.

“Now it is time for all those people to get their checkbooks out,” she said. “Everybody said what we did was great. So now they get to help us make that happen.”

Helen Boosalis, one of the women behind the original commission, was at City Hall when Beutler announced the committee.

Boosalis was mayor when she and then-County Commissioner Jan Gauger formed the commission in 1976.

At the time, Boosalis was not sure whether the city council would support a women’s commission, she said Thursday.

Back then, the council did not realize the problems women have always had, Boosalis said.

“And I assume the present council (assumes) women’s issues have been resolved, which obviously they have not,” she said.

Beutler said Boosalis and Gauger were “powerful, successful women who had to be twice as strong and determined as the men they competed against, largely because of the barriers that existed in society, both economically and politically.”

Boosalis turned to Beutler at the end of Thursday’s news conference.

“I’m glad you appointed a new commission,” she told him. “We need it.”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com.


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H wrote on October 11, 2007 10:23 pm:
" Bravo! "
Ms. Lancaster wrote on October 11, 2007 11:29 pm:
" Great News! We can all be proud that Mayor Beutler recognizes the necessity of a women's commission and used his influence to recognize and provide a mission for the new group. I hope there are lots of Chamber of Commerce men appointed to it. They need the education. "
Samantha wrote on October 12, 2007 9:40 am:
" I think commissions like this put the womens movement backwards. I don't want to be treated different just because I'm female. "
Backstory wrote on October 12, 2007 1:17 pm:
" Somebody missed two backstories. One: how this "event" actually came about and who were the proponents. Two: the Commission although unfunded did not cease and could have continued in its mission. Beutler as an attorney and a legislator knew this. An outcome with few creative options. "
Lola wrote on October 12, 2007 6:13 pm:
" I don't want special rights; I want to treated like my male counterparts. Studies show that women are paid less than men in the same jobs, yet they are frequently charged higher interest rates on mortgages -- simply because they are women. My personal experience in the workplace includes the following: one boss who freely acknowledged paying me less than my male counterparts because they would someday have families to support, and another boss, who supervised only blacks and/or women, who told us he was uncomfortable working with blacks and women. As a manager, I dealt with a young white male who told me he would never take direction from a woman. Perhaps the only direction he took from me was the one to clean out his desk -- in adddition to being arrogant, he was incompetent and was terminated at the end of his probationary period. These kinds of issues affect everyone who has a mother, sister, wife or daughter -- we all should be concerned about women's rights. "
Voice of Reason wrote on October 16, 2007 2:19 pm:
" I think its time for Beutler to get new blood on board instead of appointing the same good-old gal network that's been running the show for the past decade. If it's a new mayor's commission, now's the time to recycle the talent that represents more fairly female population base, which means economic, cultural and educational diversity! "

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