Women Leading

GovernmentSafety Toolkit for Public Health Officials

April 11, 2019

Julie Jacobson, Auburn Town Manager

Kate Fitzpatrick, Needham Town Manager

Agenda Introduction

Our Stories

The Role of Women in Local Government

Municipal Leadership – How is it Different?

Relentless Practice – How to be Happier at Work

Questions?

Women Leading

Government Initiative

Massachusetts Municipal Managers Association (MMMA)

250 appointed chief and assistant municipal managers and administrators in Massachusetts cities and towns.

Exists under its parent organization, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA).

Massachusetts Municipal Managers Association Committee

Formed in 2017 by a group of five municipal administrators, Massachusetts Women Leading Government provides programming, resources and networking opportunities for professional women working in or interested in local government.

Formerly established as a standing Committee of the MMMA in 2018

Three (3) Events Annually

Long-term goal: to develop WLG into an ICMA-recognized entity similar to those chapters formed in several other states in various area of the country. There are no such entities in the New England area.

Why did we form WLG?

Only 21% of all town managers/administrators in Mass are female

While more women hold positions in local government than two or three decades ago, most senior level management positions are held by men.

Recognized a need for a supportive environment for women in local government, or those contemplating the field of municipal government, that provides resources, networking, mentoring and training to encourage advancement in management.

To provide an opportunity to meet and have dialogue with inspirational speakers who have achieved their professional dreams and aspirations.

Challenges to Women in

Local Government

Childhood

Culture

External

Images

Wage Disparity

Personal “Juggling Act” to

Find Balance

Wage Gap

While this disparity is often blamed on the fact that women are more likely to work low-wage jobs, the (2015) Labor Department data suggests that the growing gap is actually being driven, at least in part, by the wages of high-earning professionals. In those jobs, men’s median weekly pay increased by 7.4% since last year, while women’s pay increased by just 2.2%.

The New York Times examined the wage gap in these high-paying fields, using an analysis of data provided by Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, which controls for age, race, hours and education.

Goldin found that the wage gap in these jobs is being driven by the fact that employers in the fields tend to disproportionately reward people who work long, inflexible hours. Those workers are often men. And given the Labor Department’s latest numbers, it seems fair to assume that as long as that practice continues, the wage gap will continue to grow.

September 2015 Fortune article:

Women are not actually making

progress toward equal pay. In fact,

quite the opposite is true: Over the

past year, the gender wage gap has

widened, with men’s earnings

surging twice as fast as women’s.

The reason? Men’s wages are

lapping women’s wages. While

men’s median weekly pay went up

by 2.2.% since last year, women’s

pay only increased 0.8%, reports the

Wall Street Journal.

Women’s Bureau, U.S.

Department of Labor

The gender earnings ratio (women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s) for full-time, year-

round workers improved from 60.2 percent in 1980 to 79.6 percent in 2015.

Progress towards closing the disparity between women’s and men’s earnings was greatest

during the 1980s, but slowed during the 1990s and 2000s.

The earnings disparity between women and men is narrowest for young workers ages 25-34

and widest for workers ages 55 to 64.

White, non-Hispanic and Asian women out-earn Black and Hispanic women.

The gender wage gap among those with the highest level of educational attainment is larger

than the average wage gap for all workers.

Black and Hispanic women with a bachelor’s degree have lower median weekly earnings

than Asian and White women with the same educational level.

Among full-time female workers, the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of those who

did not complete high school fell by 9.7 percent between 1979 and 2015, while the inflation-

adjusted median weekly earnings of those with at least a bachelor’s degree increased by

32.2 percent.

Women who are members of unions or covered by union contracts have much higher

earnings and greater access to employer-provided pensions and health insurance than

women who are not.

In 2015, women were over sixty percent of workers paid at or below the federal minimum

wage, and they were the majority of full-time workers who earned less than $400 per week.

ICMA A little more than 30 percent of elected boards are female

Approximately 15 percent of county elected boards are female

Less than 15 percent of the appointed city and county managers in the United States are female.

19.9% of Local Government Chief Executive Officer’s are women

A recent ICMA membership survey found that women were less likely to aspire to the chief administrative officer (CAO) role than men. In 2017, the numbers were 72% of men and 52% of women citing CAO as their ultimate career goal, which was consistent with the 2016 survey.

In 2019, a record number of women are serving in Congress—nearly a quarter of the voting membership—and the speaker of the House of Representatives is a woman.

Since the first woman, Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was elected to Congress in 1916, 329 women have served as U.S. Representatives, Delegates, or Senators (3% of representation).

As of July 2016, of the 1,361 mayors in cities with populations over 30,000, 18.9% were women.

In 2017, 6 women (12%) served as Governors in the U.S.

In 2018, 25.4% of State Legislators in the U.S. are women

WLG Goal: Increase female municipal

managers (CEOs, department heads, supervisors)

2019

FUTURE

2030

2040

WLG Mission

To educate, mentor, encourage and support women

in the local government profession.

While its focus is to provide resources and support for

women in municipal government or those interested in

a career in local government, men are welcome and

encouraged to participate.

The WLG Committee consists of eleven members who

meet throughout the year to plan, organize and hold

events at various locations throughout the

Commonwealth.

WLG Survey

Sent to participants in first events held

Also circulated to MMMA members

Sought input on:

Types of events interested in

Types of programs interested in

Preferred geographic areas to hold events

Feedback on previous programs

Suggestions for future programs

Reasons for not attending previous programs

Basic profile of previous attendees

Utilized results of survey to develop future programs

Summary of Survey Results

Types of Events

Professional Development 97%

Mentoring/Coaching 69%

Informal Breakfast 50%

Social Networking 48%

Brown Bag Lunch 40%

After work social 35%

Executive Networking Calls 29%

Other 11%

Types of Programs

Conflict Management

Effective Management

Optimizing Leadership Skills

Work/Life Balance

Setting Goals and Objectives

Incentivizing Municipal Employees

Negotiating with Your Boss/Unions

Self-promotion/marketing

Performance Evaluations

Motivational Speakers

Strategic Planning

Planning a Board Retreat

Health and Wellness for you and employees

Preferred Locations

Central Mass

Metrowest

Western Mass

Boston vicinity

WLG Events June 2017, Carlisle

Building a strong resume and honing interview skills

Joellen Cademartori Earl of GovHR USA

October 2017, Shrewsbury

Maintaining Work/Life Balance and Achieving your Goals

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Cheryl Lapriore, Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff and

Chief Marketing Officer for UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. (UMMHC) and Jill Dagilis, Executive Director of

the Worcester Community Action Council].

February 2018, Auburn

Productivity, making meetings more efficient and organizational skills

Lorena Prime.

June 2018, Hudson

Conflict Management

Denise Casey, Assistant Town Manager, Wilmington

November 2018, Amherst (in partnership with UMass Women into Leadership)

Challenges women face as they choose a career in public sector management

Amy Martin, director of the Weissman Center for Leadership at Mount Holyoke College, and Al Roberts,

director of the University of Massachusetts School of Public Policy,

February 2019, Norton

Negotiating: collective bargaining, employee contracts, performance reviews, salary and benefits

Lauren Goldberg, Managing Partner, KP Law, AiVi Nguyen, Partner, Bowditch & Dewey, and Jaime Kenny,

Partner, Clifford & Kenny

June 2019, Acton

Each event includes an opportunity to network and meet other attendees through creative interactive exercises.

Each event includes an informal discussion amongst all participants on a selected book, podcast and/or Ted Talk, led by

a facilitator who is a member of the Committee. This informal discussion enables attendees to interact with each other

and promotes interesting and topical dialogue.

Designed New Logo and

Stickers

Leadership

Leadership is engaging with and inspiring

others to participate in developing, achieving,

articulating, and embodying a shared set of

values, shared sense of purpose, and shared

vision of the desired community outcome.

Leadership in Local

Government

She’s Just Not in Charge

Who is the Town Manager?

Often the only woman in the room

Lack of portability of leave benefits

discourages people from moving up

Need to be true to your style and not imitate

others

Relentless Practice: Dread

Prevention Strategies

Not clear action required

I should have…

You are letting me down

Button pushing

Conflict

I can’t fix it

Thousand cuts

Use of my time?

Relentless Practice: Preparation

Next Steps? Happiness?

Job Satisfaction?

Confidence?

Motivation?

Resilience?

Resources: Mel Robbins, Laura

Vanderkam, Brene Brown, Gretchen

Rubin, Shaun Achor

Questions?