In the weeks since Ready to Lead, we’ve seen stark reminders of the void that exists for women in leadership in our state. In one column, the Idaho Statesman highlighted the ‘gender chasm’ in the candidates for Idaho Legislature. This past weekend, Dan Popkey utilized public salary records to showcase the pay gap among Idaho’s senior leadership.
We appreciate the attention the media is paying to these important issues. And, we hope that Go Lead Idaho’s efforts will help do something about it.
In Gov. Butch Otter’s Cabinet, women make less money than men
By DAN POPKEY — dpopkey@idahostatesman.com
Idaho Agriculture Director Celia Gould has been with Gov. Butch Otter from the first day of his administration in 2007, having been a leading figure in his campaign and a respected former legislator.
She is the highest-paid of the women in Otter’s Cabinet but ranks just 16th among all top full-time officials.
The median salary for 11 women in the Cabinet is $85,446; the median for the 33 men is $103,002.
“We really do have a glass ceiling in Idaho,” said Rep. Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum, the senior Democrat in the Legislature and a member of the budget committee.
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BSU’s Moncrief: ‘Gender chasm’ exists between Dems and GOP candidates for Idaho Legislature
Poring over thelist of candidates for the Idaho Legislature, Boise State political scientist Gary Moncrief finds a gender gap far more pronounced than the roughly 7 percent historical difference between how women and men typically vote for president.
“A Democratic candidate is three times more likely to be a woman than is a Republican candidate,” writes Moncrief in a weekend email. “In Idaho, it isn’t a gender gap; it’s a gender chasm.”