The Hidden Face of Power: Mayoral Leadership and Appointed Power in U.S. Cities 

Although cities across the United States appoint representatives to a variety of boards and commissions, we know almost nothing about the composition of these boards. Guest lecturer, Mirya Holman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Tulane University, will explore how the mayoral power of appointment serves as a key mechanism for long-lasting policy change. In this discussion, she will focus on the gender representation of these boards and how mayoral, city, and board characteristics shape the levels of representation of women on these boards. Holman will evaluate the patterns of gender imbalances, discussing the ways that institutions provide roadblocks to women’s participation in local governance. In closing, she will discuss the ways that the invisibility of local representation facilitates women’s underrepresentation and distracts from attempts to address this imbalance.

Lunch will be served.