Washington State Moves Closer to Creating a Boys and Men's Commission
In 2024, it could become the first state-level, statute-created Commission on the Status of Boys & Men. This is an important part of a larger movement to create such commissions.
There are several machinations of government that operate quietly in the background but end up having a huge effect over decades. Many states, counties, and even cities have a special Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, but there are virtually none for men and boys. The purpose of these commissions has been to inform governors and state legislatures about the issues facing women and girls and get laws passed supporting these issues.
Many of these were created in the 1960s and 1970s when gender roles were in greater flux. These have done, and continue to do, a great job supporting female well-being in many localities. Now, it’s time to realize men and boys need help, too.
The current push in Washington State, led by Blair Daly of the Washington Initiative for Boys and Men (WIBM), is one of several taking place around the country. WIBM has created a separate website solely for this campaign, waboysandmen.org.
There has been a movement that largely began in 2009 to attempt to create similar commissions in support of male well-being. Author Dr. Warren Farrell, who previously served three terms on the board of the NYC Chapter of the National Organization for Women, spearheaded the creation of the Coalition to Create A White House Council on Boys and Men after being invited to advise the Obama administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls. He believed it was in everyone’s interest to have two councils. The White House didn’t take him up on the offer, and to this day, there is no White House council supporting boys and men.
My involvement with Farrell’s Coalition got me looking at the state and local levels. I had never realized that all of these commissions existed. First looking at my current state of California, my research revealed there was not only a state-level commission for women and girls, but over two dozen county and city commissions. The City and County of San Francisco, my current hometown, takes it a step further with its own Department on the Status of Women, with funding of $13M in 2023 according to official budget documents. There are no such commissions for boys and men. I along with several colleagues have started a push to create one in California going back several years, but so far it has not yielded results.
Washington State Today
Moving two states north, let’s look at the tremendous support in Washington State for women and girls who live in Seattle. First, the Seattle Women’s Commission is a city-level commission, and here is its mandate:
The Seattle Women's Commission advises the Mayor, City Council and city departments on issues that impact the women of Seattle. The Commission identifies areas of concern and recommends policy and legislation, provides feedback and opinion on issues of city and state budget, and acts as a liaison between the women of Seattle and City government.
Seattle is located in King County, which has a Women’s Advisory Board with the following mandate:
Established in 1978, the King County Women's Advisory Board (WAB) makes recommendations to the King County Executive and the King County Council to ensure our county government takes into account the needs, rights and well-being of women.
Going one level higher to the Washington State government, there is the Washington State Women’s Commission with the following mission:
The Washington State Women’s Commission improves the life of every woman by ensuring equitable opportunities and removing systemic barriers through engagement, advocacy, and public policy, while being inclusive of our diverse populations.
And when we look at President Biden’s White House Gender Policy Council, which appears to be modeled after President Obama’s White House Council on Women and Girls, it has a mission to focus “particular attention to the barriers faced by women and girls.”
Wow! Women and girls in Seattle have special commissions or councils looking after their well-being at the city, county, state, and federal levels. That’s a lot of support.
With men falling behind in education, life expectancy, and so many other indicators of wellness, it is time we give our men and boys the same support, which is why the bi-partisan progress in Washington State is so important. A nonprofit, the Global Initiative for Boys in Men (GIBM), created a Washington State-level Report on the Status of Boys and Men outlining these struggles. (GIBM is also on Substack.) Richard Reeves, author (Of Boys and Men on Substack) and President of the recently launched American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM) recently published an article strongly supporting the creation of a Washington State Commission, as well.
Bills Have Been Introduced in Both Chambers
Early in 2023, HB 1270 was introduced by Rep. Mary Dye (R) which would create a funded Commission on the Status of Boys and Men. Although it didn’t pass or even get a public hearing, the effort continues, pushed forward by the non-partisan organization Washington Initiative for Boys and Men.
Last week, a Senate version, SB 5830, was introduced by Democratic Senator John Lovick. Bi-partisan support is important in these bills, so it was heartening to see a Democrat, Senator Lovick, take a bold stance in introducing SB 5830, after Rep. Dye, a Republican, had earlier done so in the House.
The bill now has support in both houses of the Washington State legislature and bi-partisan sponsorship; this is the farthest any such bill has gotten, and I am hopeful that it will pass in 2024. But, like any legislation, it will take a lot of work.
While my Substack largely focuses on the national picture and the Presidential race, important developments like this one at the state level also are important indicators. Will presidential candidates weigh in on male issues in 2024 as we are seeing here with Washington lawmakers?
If this bill can become law, it would be a major milestone in bi-partisan support of male well-being. We need to support the well-being of our boys and men, and it needs to be a widespread, bi-partisan, and national effort at all levels of government. If you would like to learn more about WIBM or follow their progress, you can join their newsletter and follow their social media at their website, WIBM.us, and the campaign website, waboysandmen.org.