Representation matters: assessing the gender and racial divide in Missouri's municipal boards

Municipal boards and commissions enable citizen participation in local government, provide expertise, foster community engagement, and contribute to effective governance. However, there is a dearth of reliable data about how many boards and commissions exist, who serves on them, and how representation on boards and commissions breaks down by gender and race. We gathered data on boards and commissions for municipalities with a population of 1000 or more in Missouri and analyzed the data to determine levels of gender and racial parity. Our findings demonstrate that women and people of color are underrepresented broadly on boards and commissions. The gender disparity is especially glaring on “power boards” that have enormous impacts on public policy and the allocation of resources. We also find that cities with female mayors constrain some of the gendered appointment patterns found in other cities. Finally, we find that gender inequity tends to be even more pronounced among leadership and support positions on local commissions. Racial representation on municipal boards follows a different pattern that varies primarily across cities, with increased representation of people of color on boards in more populous cities with higher levels of socioeconomic status.