Current:Home > MyIowa repeals gender parity rule for governing bodies as diversity policies garner growing opposition -EliteFunds
Iowa repeals gender parity rule for governing bodies as diversity policies garner growing opposition
View
Date:2025-04-14 17:35:27
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An explicit requirement that Iowa’s state, county and local decision-making bodies be balanced by gender was repealed Wednesday, a move that Gov. Kim Reynolds said was common sense but which critics warn may lead to fewer opportunities for women.
Before signing the repeal bill into law, Reynolds said the focus for boards and commissions “should always be on appointing the most qualified people.”
The repeal reflects a growing trend across the U.S. as conservative lawmakers target many efforts to promote diversity as well as protections for historically marginalized groups as fundamentally discriminatory, emphasizing merit instead.
Advocates for Iowa’s gender balance requirement, including Democrats in the Legislature, criticized the assumption that progress in representation means discrimination doesn’t exist.
Compared with a decade ago, there are more gender-balanced bodies in Iowa, meaning women are better distributed across them, according to the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.
Still, those opposed to the repeal emphasized that boards and commissions have yet to reach parity even with the mandate and warned that disparities can worsen.
Iowa was the first state to initiate the requirement for statewide boards and commissions when the law passed over three decades ago; then, the Legislature extended the requirement to all levels of government, to go into effect in 2012. It required a three-month waiting period before applicants of any gender could be considered.
The repeal means officials do not have to first try to find a qualified applicant that would bring gender parity to bodies like the human rights commission or the licensing board for doctors.
More than a dozen states have laws encouraging authorities to appoint members of statewide boards and commissions that reflect the population they serve by gender. Many of those statutes are being targeted in the courts.
Some Iowa lawmakers supporting the repeal cited one of those cases, which alleged the state’s gender balance mandate for the commission recommending judicial nominees to the governor was unconstitutional. A federal judge agreed, ruling earlier this year that there’s not sufficient evidence the law is compensating for discrimination now like it was when it was first introduced in 1987.
Reynolds was joined Wednesday by the plaintiff in that case — Chuck Hurley, who is vice president and chief counsel at a conservative Christian organization, Family Leader — and the attorneys who represented him. They included attorneys with the Pacific Legal Foundation, a national firm that focuses on what it considers to be government overreach and has brought similar cases in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana.
“We appreciate all of your work in helping us get this across the finish line,” Reynolds said.
veryGood! (44312)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- New tower at surfing venue in Tahiti blowing up again as problem issue for Paris Olympic organizers
- Body wrapped in tire chains in Kentucky lake identified as man who disappeared in 1999
- Still shopping for the little ones? Here are 10 kids' books we loved this year
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Shark attacks woman walking in knee-deep water after midnight in New Zealand
- Abuse in the machine: Study shows AI image-generators being trained on explicit photos of children
- Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday: Jackpot rises to $57 million
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- A rare and neglected flesh-eating disease finally gets some attention
Ranking
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Southwest Airlines, pilots union reach tentative labor deal
- Indictment against high-ranking Hezbollah figure says he helped plan deadly 1994 Argentina bombing
- Christmas cookies, cocktails and the perils of a 'sugar high' — and hangover
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- China showed greater willingness to influence U.S. midterm elections in 2022, intel assessment says
- Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday is USA TODAY Sports' 2023 Minor League Player of the Year
- China showed greater willingness to influence U.S. midterm elections in 2022, intel assessment says
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
The Emmy Awards: A guide to how to watch, who you’ll see, and why it all has taken so long
Shark attacks woman walking in knee-deep water after midnight in New Zealand
Deep flaws in FDA oversight of medical devices — and patient harm — exposed in lawsuits and records
Average rate on 30
Dancing in her best dresses, fearless, a TikTok performer recreates the whole Eras Tour
Earthquake in China leaves at least 126 dead, hundreds injured
Fans are begging for Macaulay Culkin to play Kevin McCallister in a new 'Home Alone' movie