The Polson City Commission got a few new faces during the regular meeting on Monday night (well, new at least, for the term, as several have been on the commission before).
From me seat in the back row, it was a very noticeable change. The ratio of men to women went way down. Lone female commissioner Elsa Duford was joined by two more women - Judy Preston and mayor Pat DeVries.
Four men and three women now sit on the commission.
This is just an observation - with any new members, the dynamics will change. Time wil tell how each personality on the Polson council will make it different, better, worse, etc. The voters ultimately decide which tag to give each commissioner.
Still, more often than not during a week in reporting, I quote men and use them as sources. It's heavily lopsided especially when it comes to reporting on government/municipal related stories.
It's interesting to look at the recent H1N1 virus that made headline after headline this year from this perspective. I bet the number of female source quoted, per newspaper or broadcast, spiked noticeably. Because women more traditionally hold public health, nursing and caregiver jobs.
This may seem very "feministy" to many. I will absolutely agree that the person who should take the seat should be the one best qualified. I'm not here to make judgements on who that is in Polson.
What I will, is that it's refreshing to see. As a professional woman, I say, recognizing girl power is not a bad thing.
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