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Sheheen, Haley Split on Pledge to Appoint Women
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen has signed a pledge, promising to make an effort to appoint qualified women to senior level positions on state boards and commissions if he is elected.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley declined to sign the pledge.
“I’m not for quotas,” said Sheheen, a state senator from Camden. “I’m not for appointing people who are not qualified. But there are plenty of qualified women out there, and we should make an effort to reach out to all people and include them in the next administration.”
Spokesman Rob Godfrey said Haley a state representative from Lexington County who would be the first woman ever elected S.C. governor if she wins — wants to see more women in public service.
“That said, Nikki is not going to make any pledges in reference to appointments, other than this one — she will always choose the highest qualified person for the job without regard to race or gender,” Godfrey said.
The pledge is the brainchild of the Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that trains and encourages women to run for office. Since 2007, the institute has worked to strip South Carolina of its dubious title for having the fewest women in its state Legislature among the 50 states.
Women make up only 10 percent of the S.C. Legislature; they account for 51 percent of the state’s population.
No women holds statewide office and only four of the state’s 15 agency directors, all appointed by the governor, are women.
Currently, 35 percent of the roughly 1,800 gubernatorial appointees on the state’s board and commissions are female, according to the institute.
To get more women involved, the institute is compiling a database of resumes from S.C. women that it says are qualified to serve on boards and commissions.
After the November election, the institute will give the new governor the database and encourage her or him to consider the women listed when filling vacancies on boards and commissions.
“This should remove the excuse we’ve heard in the past that governors cannot find women to serve in high-level positions,” said Candy Waites, a former member of the S.C. House who is co-chairing the effort, at a Tuesday news conference, adding the institute was disappointed Haley did not sign the pledge.
A third gubernatorial candidate, Morgan Reeves, has not responded to the institute’s request that he sign the pledge.
Originally posted in The State
By: Gina Smith