Women are a majority of the population but they make up less than 25 percent of the Missouri Legislature and are minority participants at all levels of public policy leadership.
The Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life is a non-partisan, non-issue institute focused on making government accessible to all Missouri citizens by encouraging women's full participation in the policy process.
The Institute for Women in Public Life was founded in the fall of 1996 on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis to assist women in developing the interest and skills necessary to succeed as full participants within government, serving in elected and appointed office as well as employed policy makers.
The Institute:
- Educates students on the need for women's leadership in public service through the 21st Century Leadership Academy.
- Maintains a unique Talent Bank of women interested in serving on public boards and commissions, and educates elected officials on the willingness of women to serve.
- Educates women on how to seek public office through the Pipeline to Politics campaign series.
- Educates and coaches women seeking judicial appointments and employment in government policy-making positions.
STATEMENT ABOUT LEGISLATIVE ACTION
MAY 8, 2012
“I Would Not Be the Person I am Today” without Institute Program, Academy Graduate Asserts
The Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life is deeply disappointed by the efforts of the Missouri Legislature to halt funding for programs that educate and encourage the civic participation of half the country’s population. These attacks politicize the Sue Shear Institute and its efforts, which are strictly educational.
The assertion that such programs are a waste of tax-payer dollars belies the reality that in 2012, women hold 90 seats in Congress, just less than 17 percent, the same number as in 2009. Women hold 23.7 percent of seats in state legislators, down from a record of 24.5 percent in 2010 and equal to the proportion in 2008. In the Missouri General Assembly, the number is 23.9 percent, an all-time high.
“There is overwhelming scholarly evidence that women face internal, as well as external, barriers to participation in the public policy process,” said Dr. Dayna Stock, Manager of the Sue Shear Institute. “Educational programs like those at the Sue Shear Institute, and other institutions of higher learning, help break down those barriers and move us toward a more representative democracy.”
Especially disappointing is the fact that among those championing the effort to dismantle the Institute are women who have benefited from Sue Shear Institute programs, or have supported the Institute as donors or faculty members for Institute programs, including the 21st Century Leadership Academy. The Academy is a week-long residential program for college students, with a focus on women’s public sector leadership. Contrary to the assertion that women do not “need” programs like the Institute, graduates of the Academy are quick to credit the Institute with giving them the confidence to pursue their goals:
“After leaving the Academy, I possessed a confidence I could not have gained any other place. Without the Academy, I would never have gained the knowledge, leadership abilities, and confidence to pursue these amazing opportunities in my life. I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today had it not been for the week I spent at the Leadership Academy,” said 2010 Shear Fellow Megan Cripps.
The Institute is a non-partisan educational organization that does not take positions on issues or espouse a particular political agenda. The Institute does not recruit or endorse candidates, run political or issue campaigns, operate a PAC, or engage in any other activity that could be construed by a reasonable person to be “political.”
“As I see it, these efforts are not limited to some legislators' concerns over the Sue Shear Institute at UMSL, and have broader implications for every institution of higher education,” University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Tom George said. “Efforts to direct or limit what public institutions of higher education in Missouri should teach are a threat to the integrity of the educational process.”
As part of a land-grant institution, the Institute’s mission is consistent with the university’s mandate to provide service to the community. In 2010, the University of Missouri-St. Louis met the high standards required by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to be designated a Community Engaged campus. This classification recognizes exceptional collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources. In awarding this designation, the Carnegie Foundation singled out the work of the Sue Shear Institute.
“The Institute’s mission has always been to educate and encourage women to embrace their role as full participants in civic life,” Director Vivian Eveloff said. “That is an American value, not a political one.”
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Established in 1998 by the Missouri Legislature and the Board of Curators for the University of Missouri, the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life is a non-partisan, educational entity. Programs of the Institute are open to participants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, and status as a military veteran.
