Women and girls in Seattle have commissions at 4 levels of government focused on their gender’s issues. Men and boys have 0. It’s time we change that.

If you are a woman who lives in Seattle, you have a commission, council, or advisory board looking out for your sex/gender’s interests at the city, county, state, and federal levels of government. As demonstrated in the list below, men living in Seattle have no commission at any level of government looking out for their sex/gender’s well-being. (See our collection of pages on Boys and Men’s Issues and our articles on Gender Disparities for information on the kinds of problems government men’s commissions could tackle.)

The purpose of this blog post is simply to put into perspective one aspect of the struggle for gender equality in Seattle and the state of Washington.

City of Seattle

  • Women’s commission: Seattle Women’s Commission “researches, analyzes and makes recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, and City Departments on issues facing women in Seattle” (see more of the Commission’s purpose in the screenshot provided at the bottom of this post)
  • Men’s commission: None

King County

  • Women’s commission: King County Women’s Advisory Board “ensures our county government takes into account the needs, rights and well-being of women” (see more of the Advisory Board’s purpose in the screenshot provided at the bottom of this post)
  • Men’s commission: None

State of Washington

  • Women’s commission: Washington State Women’s Commission “improves the life of every woman by ensuring equitable opportunities and removing systemic barriers” (see more of the Commission’s purpose in the screenshot provided at the bottom of this post)
  • Men’s commission: None

United States of America

  • Women’s commission: White House Gender Policy Council “guides and coordinates policy that impacts women and girls” (see more of the Council’s purpose in the screenshot provided at the bottom of this post)
  • Men’s commission: None

Has the creation of a men’s commission at any of these levels of government been given serious consideration by elected officials? If not, why not? Should men (and women) organize to advocate for government men’s commissions?

Screenshots of descriptions of government women’s commissions

City of Seattle

Description of Seattle Women's Commission

King County

Description of King County Women's Advisory Board

State of Washington

Mission and vision of Washington State women's commission

United States of America

Biden-Harris announcement about Gender Policy Council