Purging Diversity

As of July 1 in Iowa, 67 boards and commissions are slated for extinction, including those representing marginalized and underrepresented groups, such as people with autism, children with special health needs, aging adults and more. Gone will be the divisions on the status of women, of African-Americans, of Latinos, of Asian and Pacific Islanders, of Native Americans and of people with disabilities. Also vanishing on July 1 will be a gender-balance requirement in effect since 1987--the nation's first--requiring proportional representation by men and women on state boards and commissions. [Rekha Basu in the Des Moines Sunday Register, 6/9/24]