The city has an unusually high number of women in leadership positions, even in male-dominated departments like police and fire. Why is that?
By Liz Farmer | Governing
Excluding education, women make up nearly half of the roughly 9 million workers in state and local government — but they remain underrepresented in management and leadership roles. In general, the higher you look on a government’s organizational chart, the more likely a position is to be filled by a man.
Not so in Phoenix.
In that city, nearly half of the 36 department heads and other executive positions are held by women, a share that far exceeds the national average. Women head notoriously male-dominated agencies like transportation, water infrastructure and even public safety. In fact, the city of 1.5 million is the largest municipality in the country to have both a female police and fire chief. Women also lead the city’s homeland security and emergency management departments, as well as the prosecutor’s office.
