The Ohio Senate

Capri S. Cafaro

The Ohio House of Representatives

Nancy Garland

July 19, 2011 The Honorable John Kasich Governor of Ohio Riffe Center for Government and the Arts 77 South High Street, 30th floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Dear Governor Kasich: We write to you today to express our great disappointment about the seriously deficient representation of women on the JobsOhio corporate board, as well as throughout your administration. Among the appointments you made last week to the JobsOhio Board, only one of the eight appointees was female. Yet, nearly 28 percent of small businesses in Ohio are owned by women. Women play a vital role in Ohios economic mix and should be more adequately represented on the JobsOhio board. As you know, equality in the workplace has been an enduring struggle. In recent years, women have surpassed men in the number of advanced degrees, yet they continue to be compensated at 78 percent the rate of their male counterparts. Regrettably, the limited representation of women on this board will only perpetuate the struggle for equality of women in the workplace and in leadership roles here in Ohio. Unfortunately, this is not the only example an underrepresentation of women in important leadership roles within state government. There are 26 members of your cabinet and only four of them are women. This is far fewer than previous governors. Moreover, the women you have chosen for cabinet positions are entrusted with smaller agencies, smaller budgets and smaller staffs than the male cabinet members. At the same time we see a lack of women in executive offices and appointments, we look at our legislative chambers and see far fewer women in leadership positions. In the Ohio House, among the 25 chairs of the standing committees and subcommittees, there is only one female chair. In the Ohio Senate, there are 14 different committee chairs and again only one is female. In addition to this gross underrepresentation of women in state government, it has also come to our

attention that the Governors Office of Womens Initiatives and Outreach has been inexplicably dismantled. This is yet another troubling sign that public policy issues concerning women are not getting attention or support from your administration. Not giving women a voice in important decision-making roles is a trend that could do long-term damage to the women in our state and to the state as a whole. Women are being hit hardest by state and local government budget cuts across the country because women make up a larger proportion of the public sector workforce. Women are also recovering more slowly than men from the national recession caused by the recklessness of the financial industry. This is a problem we ignore at our peril. Governor, we need your commitment to diversity for our state to advance and succeed. Fairness, diversity and inclusion are important values and are keys to building a stronger, more vibrant Ohio. The business community has found this to be a formula for success, and we must heed their example. Please do not let your time in office go down in the history books as the time we marched backwards and undid decades of progress toward a more diverse and successful state. We ask that you find and appoint a qualified woman to the final open position on the JobsOhio Board.

Respectfully,

State Representative Nancy Garland

Senator Capri S. Cafaro

State Representative Connie Pillich

Senator Edna Brown

State Representative Denise Driehaus

Senator Charleta B. Tavares

State Representative Nickie J. Antonio

Senator Nina Turner

State Representative Teresa Fedor

Senator Shirley A. Smith

State Representative Lorraine M. Fende

State Representative Debbie Phillips

State Representative Kathleen Clyde

State Representative Tracy Maxwell Heard

State Representative Barbara H. Boyd