Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Status of Nevada women rated

Education cited as key for Silver State to improve in categories deemed below average

June Beland, president of the Women's Chamber of Commerce, says there are a lot of women in Nevada who inspire other women. Photo by Gary Thompson. Carol Harter UNLV president Lorraine Hunt Lieutenant governor

Nevada's women don't have a lot of degrees, managers or registered voters among them when compared to other states, according to a recently released study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

But there are fewer Nevada women living in poverty and more of them elected to office than in other states, prompting some of the state's most successful women to say it won't be long before they catch up to other states.

"Within the next five to 10 years, you're going to see a lot of women in a lot of high end positions," said June Beland, founder and president of the state Women's Chamber of Commerce. "You need inspiring women to inspire others, and you have a lot of inspiring women here."

UNLV President Carol Harter, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and Beland, some of the highest ranking female policy makers in Nevada, pointed to education as a key to raising the status of Nevada's women.

About 27 percent of Nevada's women have managerial and professional occupations, 52 percent are registered to vote and 17 percent of Nevada's women have four or more years of college education. The state ranked 50th, 49th and 47th across the nation in those areas, respectively.

"The solution to virtually every one of those problems is education, education, education," Harter said. "Higher education in particular."

The state earned a C- in women's political participation, a D in employment and earnings, a D+ in social and economic autonomy, and a D for health and well being. The highest grade was a B, in the category of reproductive rights, issues including access to abortion services and sex education in schools.

"There is this concept that we have achieved equality now, and clearly these numbers show this isn't the case," said April Shaw, senior policy analyst for the Washington-based institute.

If Nevada women are looking for a haven of gender equality within U.S. borders, they won't find one. Shaw said no state has achieved a level playing field. U.S. women will have to wait 50 years to earn as much as their male counterparts, and now earn 76 cents to every dollar men earn, according to the report.

But Nevada was ranked seventh in the nation for having the fewest women living in poverty, with 92 percent above the poverty line.

Harter noted a seductive economy that siphons young people away from college is partly responsible for the state's low education and poverty levels. Las Vegas offers a market that provides jobs paying upwards of $40,000 a year without a college degree.

But Harter said it will not be long before Nevada sees a significant increase in women graduates who then become professionals, managers and business owners. In fall 2003, about 3,450 more women attended UNLV than men.

Harter has been the "first woman" in almost every higher education post she's had. Each time she was promoted or hired, she had to once again prove her competence.

"It was a surprise to everybody in this town that a woman got hired here," she said.

Hunt, a lounge singer and entrepreneur turned politician, never encountered a glass ceiling until her first bid for county commission.

"It was as though they wanted to erase 25 years of business acumen and say, 'Who was this gal who thinks she's going to run for political office?' " she said. "It was probably the first time in my life when I said, 'Wait a minute, is it because I'm a woman?'

"To be a woman and particularly if you like to dress up and you like to look nice," Hunt said, some will not "want you to be credible. Maybe they don't want to know that you can read a financial statement, that you have a vision."

Hunt sees Nevada as a pioneer state, where women will progress in all arenas.

Beland, an entrepreneur, is proof women don't need a college degree to succeed. But the founder and former head of ABC Publishing recommends aspiring businesswomen attend college or business courses to keep up with a rapidly changing economy.

She decided to start a chamber of commerce for women in 2002, using her kitchen table as an office and having no initial members. Now she has 195. As president, she's helped women from across the world relocate here.

"Women need to have power," she said. "If we don't take it, it's not given to us."