Senate passes bill eliminating gender balance requirement on Iowa boards and commissions

Iowa's boards and commissions would no longer have to have equal numbers of men and women serving on them, under a bill that passed the Iowa Senate.

Senate File 2096 was approved by a 32-15 vote on Tuesday. Every Republican present voted in favor of the bill, as did Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. All other Democrats were opposed.

Republicans who support the legislation argue that the decades-old gender balance requirement is no longer necessary, and limits the pools of possible appointees to fill state and local boards.

"If ever there was a time that there was a good idea, it is no longer now," said Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, the bill's floor manager. "The world has changed and it's time that men and women are selected on their qualifications and nothing else."

Those opposed to the bill say many boards and commissions still don't have full gender balance, and that existing law already allows for flexibility when making appointments.

Multiple Democrats who spoke against the bill Tuesday pointed to their own experiences to demonstrate that gender bias remained an issue.

Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, who has served on a number of state and local boards, said she "probably wouldn't have gotten" an opportunity to serve "without the gender balance law being in place."

More: Iowa GOP lawmakers advance bill repealing gender balance rule for boards and commissions

And Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, recalled being rejected by some congregants as a pastor because she was a woman.

"The world may have changed but the world still isn't fair," Trone Garriott said. "Sometimes, more qualified women don't get leadership opportunities until that less qualified man is taken out of the equation."

Women on the other side of the aisle praised the legislation.

Sen. Annette Sweeney, R-Iowa Falls, acknowledged that "we've all got the stories" of being denigrated because of being a woman, but said she wants women to be appointed to boards and commissions purely based on their qualifications.

"This is one of the best, happiest votes I'm going to take," Sweeney said.

And Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, urged Iowans to apply for local and state boards, arguing that the gender balance "keeps otherwise qualified women from serving."

"It's sad to me that some people in this chamber think that women won't be picked if we get rid of this requirement," Cournoyer said.

According to the Carrie Chapmann Catt Center for Women and Politics, about 50% of Iowa county boards and commissions had achieved gender balance between 2013 and 2014. Between 2021 and 2022, it was about 62%.

More: Kim Reynolds wants to cut Iowa boards and commissions. Lawmakers disagree about how much

The bill's introduction and passage this session comes amid a push by Gov. Kim Reynolds to consolidate many of the boards and commissions, which are tailored to specific industries and policies and comprised of appointed members of the public.

Legislation introduced in the 2023 session that would have eliminated the gender balance died before making significant progress.

Quirmbach, the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill on Tuesday, cited rising college and postgraduate graduation rates for women and described the 50% gender balance requirement as a "ceiling" for women's participation that should be removed.

"It seems pretty clear that the rising generation of women, if allowed to compete on the basis of their merit, will succeed and will succeed in greater numbers," he said. "I believe that they should be allowed to compete on that merit."

An identical version of the legislation has advanced through a committee in the Iowa House. The full chamber must still pass the bill before it could go to Reynolds for her signature.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bill removing gender balance requirement on Iowa boards passes Senate