Feb. 19--When Diane Dixon took her seat on the Newport Beach City Council in 2014, she took a long look around and noticed that women were largely absent from city politics.
Dixon, who has since become mayor, looked at the elected council -- where she is the only woman currently seated -- and went down the roster of the city's dozens of boards and commissions to find that men dominated those appointed positions as well.
But she wasn't exactly sure of the reason, so city staff crunched some numbers.
Newport Beach's population is roughly equal in men and women, but women represent only about 30% of the people who apply for and eventually serve on city boards, committees and commissions, data show. Women currently do make up a majority of the city's Board of Library Trustees and Arts Commission.
"Women just aren't applying for these positions at the same level as men in our community," Dixon said. "I suspect we have an awareness problem, and think we can solve it through communication and education."
Dixon asked female leaders from various groups in the city why they think women don't apply for civic positions in greater numbers.
Those conversations sparked the idea for Women in Newport Networking, a free forum scheduled for Thursday at the Newport Beach Civic Center.
Dixon, along with Civil Service Board Chairwoman Debra Allen, library board Chairwoman Robyn Grant and former Arts Commission Chairwoman Kathy Harrison, will present the forum in an effort to encourage more women to serve in local civic and community groups. Guests will have the opportunity to speak with women from more than a dozen boards, commissions, committees and foundations to learn about what goes into serving in a public capacity.
Dixon hopes the event will present a clear path for women to get involved.
"A common response I get when I ask women why they're not involved is, 'Well, I'm too busy'," she said. "These are generally people who are deeply involved in volunteer activities and would have a lot to offer. My answer is, 'I think you might have more time than you realize'."
The challenge of getting women involved extends to national politics.
A 2012 study published by the Women Politics Institute in Washington, D.C., determined that women are underrepresented in U.S. political institutions because they don't run for office.
"There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it and women don't," researchers wrote.
Women are less likely to think they're qualified to run for office and are less likely to receive a suggestion to run, according to the study.
Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce President Steve Rosansky, a former councilman, said men have always dominated the city's politics.
"I don't think there's any agenda to keep women out, but it's just that they haven't seen themselves in that way," he said. "I think it's a good thing to encourage more women to take leadership roles in the community."
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If you go
What: Women in Newport Networking
Where: Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive
When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Cost: Free
Information and to RSVP: newportbeachca.gov/government/open-transparent/citizen-participation/winn
