Women’s History Month 2024: Celebrating the Success of Women in Municipal Government

By:

Clarence E. Anthony

March 26, 2024 - (3 min read)

By Yvette Colbourne, Commissioner, City of Miramar, Florida
President, NLC Women in Municipal Government (WIMG)

This year’s Women in Municipal Government (WIMG) luncheon, held during our Congressional City Conference (CCC) in Washington, D.C., was especially memorable as the sold-out room welcomed keynote speaker Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. Rascoe, a seasoned print journalist, spent a decade with the Reuters news service as an energy reporter and White House correspondent before joining NPR in 2018. She took on the role of hosting Weekend Edition Sunday in 2022. Her remarks at WIMG focused on her career trajectory and the firm foundation she received as a graduate of Howard University with a degree in journalism. Her recent book, “HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience,” was published earlier this year and contains a collection of testimonials by famous and up-and-coming HBCU alumni describing the experiences that shaped their lives. Contributors include Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, and Branford Marsalis, as well as an introductory essay by Ms. Rascoe herself.

During a high energy question and answer period, Ms. Rascoe offered solid advice to WIMG members on how to engage with the media in their elected roles. She emphasized the importance of transparency and honesty and encouraged members to create opportunities for information sharing with journalists.

This Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate the impact that WIMG is having in the local elected official space nationwide. Last year, WIMG set a goal of expanding its membership to 500. That goal was not only reached but exceeded.

WIMG President Yvette Colborne (left) and Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday (right).

This year, in honor of NLC’s 100^th Anniversary, WIMG is determined to add 100 new members to its ranks.

NLC’s constituency groups are the ideal entry point to join a community of local elected officials with similar experiences. They are the welcoming and comfortable space to meet and gather with your peers, inform NLC’s perspective and policy positions related to your cohort, and move into other NLC leadership positions.

WIMG leadership has set an ambitious work plan for 2024. In addition to the membership growth goal, the group wants to engage with NLC’s Federal Advocacy team on the issues of housing, paid parental leave, paid pregnancy leave, elder care, domestic violence and much more. Plans are underway for a WIMG summer conference in South Florida, July 17-19, where informative sessions will highlight these issues.

In closing, we want to remind everyone that 2024 is a banner year as NLC celebrates its 100^th anniversary. We also want to celebrate WIMG’s 50th anniversary! Established in 1974, the group works to raise awareness about issues of concern to women and encourages women to seek public office in their communities. It has successfully forged a prominent role for women in developing NLC’s National Municipal Policy and its agenda for the nation’s cities and towns. We will work together with allies which can be found at the local, state, and national levels.

As WIMG continues to serve as a vehicle for NLC members to discuss problems, explore solutions, debate policy issues, and contribute to the success of American cities and towns, we can make our greatest impact by coming together. We invite you to join us as we work to achieve our 2024 goals and beyond!