Helen Sommers: An Oral History

pg. 266 Women Advances in Government
in this society and who are working to eliminate
these injustices” (The Seattle Times, January 16,
1973). This pre-selection was necessary, the activists
insisted, because for the Women’s Commission to
be a “training ground” for “persons who are unaware
that women have any problems” was a waste
of everyone’s time (The Seattle Times, March 15,
1973). This proposal did not go over terribly well
with many of the other members of the panel, most
of whom were not affiliated with feminist groups.
In 1973, likewise, the group voted to censure commissioner
Kay Regan because she had traveled to
Olympia to testify against ratification of the federal
Equal Rights Amendment.
Early Accomplishments
Still, the Women’s Commission managed to
accomplish a great deal in the first few years of its
existence. It lobbied for an Equal Rights Amendment
to the state constitution and for a bill that
gave married women equal access to credit and
community property. It undertook a study of rape
and investigated ways to prevent violence against
women. In March 1974, City Councilman Tim Hill
proposed that the city eliminate the agency, but the
commissioners fought back: they pointed to their
achievements – such as an executive order requiring
fair employment practices in city government;
an ordinance prohibiting gender bias in newspaper
want ads; a city affirmative-action plan that
explicitly protected women and gay people; and a
Fair Employment Practices Ordinance passed in
1973 that prohibited sex discrimination in public
and private employment – to show that, indeed,
their panel was valuable and effective.
Today, the Seattle Women’s Commission is a
volunteer group with 20 members. It works with the
mayor, the City Council, and the Office for Civil
Rights to address political, legislative, and budgetary
issues that affect women of all ages in Seattle.
The present commission focuses most of its work on
five areas: Economic Opportunity, Advancement,
and Security; Health and Human Services; Race
and Social Justice; Violence Against Women; and
Summit Planning. Any Seattle resident may apply
to serve on the commission.