It’s a man’s world in Hutchinson and across McLeod County. More precisely, it’s a white, middle-aged and older man’s world.

Visit any public meeting in our region, and you’ll instantly recognize that fact. Women, young people and minorities are not well represented on boards and commissions here.

But first, full disclosure: We’re two white men, in our mid-40s and mid-50s. We work in a business that employs more women than men. The people who work here represent all age groups, but most are younger than 60. As a whole, our work force is not overly represented by minorities, but then you can say that about almost all of McLeod County, which was 97 percent white in the 2000 census.

We’re presenting this information first because it’s important to be transparent when we discuss the balance – or imbalance – of people with various backgrounds serving on pubic bodies.

We also are quick to point out that we don’t necessarily believe every public body must be comprised of a perfect representation of every demographic in that body’s jurisdiction. We’ll let you decide for yourself whether that’s important.

Instead, our goal is to shine the light on reality. White, middle-aged and older men have run things in this city and county for many years. Some people will say they’ve done a great job. Others will say there’s room for improvement. We’ll share some women’s sentiments later in this editorial.

Regardless, we live in changing times and members of previously under-represented groups are assuming greater roles across the country in business, government and other areas of society. It just seems to be happening a little slower here.

For that reason, we thought you’d like to know the makeup of our region’s public commissions and boards.

First, a little history. When the Hutchinson Brothers came to this area in the 1850s, they advocated the abolition of slavery and women’s right to vote. Slavery was officially ended in the nation a few years after the brothers’ arrival, and women finally got their voting rights in 1920.

It would be a long time, however, before significant numbers of women would be elected or appointed to serve on public bodies.

Hutchinson elected its first woman to the City Council in 1969. Bette Jensen was the top vote-getter in a four-way race for two council seats. After that, Kay Peterson went on to serve two stints on the council between 1975 and 2008. They are the only two women to ever serve on the Hutchinson City Council.

Many other public bodies have seen a surge in the number of women serving during the past 40 years.

Women gain a foothold

By examining current public body rosters, we discovered:

< Women hold 29 percent of the 89 seats on Hutchinson’s 13 appointed public bodies, such as the Planning Commission and Library Board. As might be expected, their numbers are greater on boards with more of a social mission such as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board. Yet, some boards have no women, including the seven-member Economic Development Authority board and the five-member Utilities Commission.

< Women fill 27 percent of the 293 seats on McLeod County’s 33 appointed boards and commissions. Again, women hold more seats on groups such as the Extension Committee. They hold no seats on some panels including the county’s two watershed district boards, and the Hutchinson Area Joint Planning Board.

< Of the 46 seats that make up the county’s nine city councils, four, or 9 percent, are held by women.

< Of the 42 seats that make up the county’s six public school boards, seven, or 14 percent, are held by women.

< Women don’t serve in any of the supervisor seats on the county’s 14 town boards. But 19 women serve as clerks and treasurers on those boards.

What women think

Why don’t women hold more seats? For answers, we asked several women in our office.

“I’m sure they feel intimidated,” said one woman. “Serving in these offices has always been a man’s thing. And if it’s an elected office, women think, ‘Why should I go out for it? I’ll get beat anyway.’”

Another said women elsewhere are more visible on public bodies. “As much as women have made strides, we’re not well represented locally,” she said.

A man from our office chimed, “Can’t serve if you don’t run.”

Another woman said, “I feel women have just as good ideas as men, if not better. And they’re better organizers. And I think they listen better, and we can multitask better.”

And what about young people, who also are under-represented on local public bodies? Chad Czmowski, who was 28 when he was elected to the Hutchinson City Council 15 months ago, lowered the council’s average age by several years. Likewise, Paul Wright, who was 37 when he won his first election to the McLeod County Board of Commissioners in late 2008, brought the average age of that board’s members down, too.

A quick look at the boards and commissions in our area suggests that the majority of people who serve on them are in their 50s and 60s, mainly because they have the time and experience. Young people’s time usually is wrapped up with raising families and making a living. Still, their involvement on public bodies can prove beneficial to people of all ages. They might not possess the same level of experience as their more seasoned counterparts, but they can bring a fresh perspective.

Election is drawing near

The reason we bring all of this to light is because fall elections will soon be here. To date, five white men have announced their candidacy for the District 18 Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Steve Dille. Perhaps a woman will want to consider running for that office.

In Hutchinson, two City Council members – Bill Arndt and Jim Haugen – have said they won’t seek re-election for their seats. In 2008, eight men and three women vied for two open council seats. Perhaps the three women who were not elected – as well as the six men – will also consider running this year.

The final bastion of masculinity – town board supervisor seats – is also up for grabs. Some boards have their elections in March, others in November. Perhaps a few women will want to consider running. We will encourage them.

In our view, having a balance of backgrounds on public bodies should be more than filling a matrix representing various professions. True diversity on a board includes a representation of people of different ages, genders, religions, racial and ethnic backgrounds, incomes and more. It also includes a diversity of ideas.

Diversity is important because homogenous boards tend to think homogeneously. But we don’t live in a homogenous world.

We encourage people of varied backgrounds to consider becoming a candidate for office this year. And we encourage voters to give them fair consideration.

(Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com, or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com.)