S.C. women lose ground in leadership positions

The percentage of women in top policy-making posts has plunged under Gov. Mark Sanford, pushing South Carolina to near the bottom of a national ranking, a study shows.

South Carolina’s rank compared to other states went from 26th in 2001 under Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges to 48th in 2003 under the Republican Sanford, the study found.

The Center for Women in Government & Civil Society compared the number of women appointed by governors to head state agencies and departments and to top staff positions. The center is located at the State University of New York at Albany.

South Carolina also ranks near the bottom of the nation in the status of women on other indicators ranging from health care to pay equity to domestic violence.

Sanford last year angered advocates by eliminating funding for his advisory group on women’s issues, the Commission on Women.

Several advocates said the drop in appointed positions held by women was further evidence that the state’s leaders don’t value having women help shape policy.

“The state loses the character of a democracy because not all of its citizens are represented,” said Zoe Sanders Nettles, a Columbia lawyer and president of the National Association of Women Lawyers. “We become less of a democracy, which is a very scary thing.”

Judith Saidel, the study director, said she mailed forms to each state’s governor in the summer of 2003, asking them to report how many women they had in top positions.

Sanford’s office reported six of 29 positions — or 20.7 percent — were held by women. Hodges’ office in 2001 reported 13 of 39 of posts were filled by women — or 33 percent.

Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond said Friday the number has since increased to seven — three women in his Cabinet and four on his senior staff.

First lady Jenny Sanford, who also served as her husband’s campaign manager, advises the governor and has served as temporary chief of staff, Drummond said. He added that 92 of 382 — 24 percent — of Sanford’s appointees to boards and commissions have been women.Women make up more than half of South Carolina’s population.

“The governor has said from Day One that his goal has been an administration that looks like South Carolina,” Drummond said. “He believes that limiting your perspective doesn’t make sense in the decision-making process, and his appointments to senior staff, his Cabinet and various statewide boards and commissions reflects that.”State Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Richland, said the state should be vigilant about considering women and minorities for all jobs.

The state could get better job candidates in the future if women and minorities see people like themselves already holding top positions, he said.

“If they see some of their peers having success, it’s a very powerful impact,” he said.

Nationally, between 2001 and 2003, the ratio of women in governor-appointed leadership posts dropped three percentage points to 32 percent, Saidel found.

She had two observations:

• The overall number of positions in governors’ offices dropped, and women lost a disproportionate share of the jobs.

• As a result, governors have been less likely to include women as they deal with problems such as national security and the poor economy.

In South Carolina, the lack of women in leadership positions isn’t limited to appointments.

The state has the smallest proportion of female elected officials in the nation. And it’s likely to get smaller — a handful of female legislators are retiring this year, including Rep. Becky Richardson, R-York.

“We doubt women will replace us,” Richardson said. “We don’t know what’s going on, why women don’t want to get involved.”

S.C. women’s advocates said the state’s culture still stresses that a woman’s place is in the home, and that is a barrier to women in government.

State leaders need to notice there’s a disparity and take the initiative to turn things around, advocates said.

“We’ve got to start working on these attitudes about what is a woman’s place,” said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. “Until those attitudes change, I don’t think we’ll see much change.”

Reach Talhelm at (803) 771-8339 or jtalhelm@thestate.com