Apr 4, 2015 2 min read

I read with great interest the reporting on the recent panel discussion sponsored in part by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce concerning diversity and the lack of women voted into elective office in Pennsylvania. This is an important topic and there is certainly work to be done to topple the “old boy’s network” in the commonwealth.

The campaigns of female candidates tend to be bottom-up efforts and require dedicated, knowledgeable and well-funded candidates willing to get involved. Most diversity issues involve hiring, training and recruitment, and are top-down efforts where enlightened leadership makes all the difference.

My challenge to the panel participants, including Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta and President Judge Katherine Emery, is to turn the diversity imbalance on its head and to use their positions to make meaningful change in Washington County. I would add Washington County Bar Association President Dawn Haber to this triumvirate, because the law community faces many of the same challenges.

Minority employment and staffing in Washington County government and the court system is embarrassingly small. Recruitment of minority lawyers to live and work in Washington County appears nonexistent. Women leaders who have had to battle the status quo to achieve positions of power can speak from experience in developing diversity programs and policies for the hiring and advancement practices under their respective domains.

Diversity is not a luxury that Washington County can afford to leave to chance. Diversity programs are proactive and seek out qualified minority candidates. They build a multicultural workplace and community because it is the right thing to do.

A diverse workforce is many times stronger than the sum of its parts. This is particularly true in the public and legal sectors where minorities must believe their interests are fairly represented. Our knowledgeable and compassionate female leaders are in the best position to make this a reality.

Gary Stout

Washington