Taveras Announces Initiative to Increase Women Participation on Boards and Commissions

Women's Fund of Rhode Island to track progress of Rhode Island Municipal Appointments Project

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Mayor Taveras today unveiled his administration's Rhode Island Municipal Appointments Project (RI-MAP), an initiative to even the ratio of women and men appointed to high-level government positions.

As part of the effort, Mayor Taveras committed to increasing women's participation on the city's boards and commissions in an effort to ensure that the composition of the community is reflected in his administration. The Mayor will also encourage municipal leaders across the state to appoint more women to city boards and commissions in their own communities.

Taveras also announced a partnership with Women's Fund of Rhode Island to track the administration's progress on this important goal, using a similar model to the one introduced during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign by the Rhode Island Government Appointments Project (RI-GAP).

"I am committed to increasing the appointments of women to board and commission positions, and am hopeful that my pledge inspires other cities and towns across Rhode Island to make their own commitment to gender equality in government," Mayor Taveras said.

Women currently hold 81 of the 225 positions on the boards and commissions established through ordinance, executive order, charter, state law or resolution that empower the mayor to appoint members. Of the 109 board members that Mayor Taveras has appointed since taking office, 42 are women.

Women's Fund of Rhode Island Executive Director Marcia Coné, Providence Councilwoman Sabina Matos and more than a dozen women members of the Taveras administration joined the mayor for today's announcement.

"We're thrilled to be working with Mayor Taveras to launch the Rhode Island Municipal Appointments Project, which seeks to increase the number of women serving on boards and commissions in Providence to ensure women's voices are heard and women are represented," Ms. Coné said.

"Women have an important perspective, and we need more women in government," said Councilwoman Matos. "I applaud the Mayor for making this commitment to increase the number of women on boards and commissions, and I hope others follow his lead."

The Rhode Island Government Appointments Project (RI-GAP) is the Rhode Island incarnation of the Women's Appointments Project, an initiative of Hunt Alternatives Fund championed by Ambassador Swanee Hunt and former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.