Forum to Focus on Women in Wyomings Legislature

Efforts to increase the number of women in Wyoming’s Legislature will be the focus of a forum scheduled Thursday, Feb. 25, at 4:45 p.m. at Cheyenne’s Little America Conference Center.

It is part of the Leap into Leadership conference and is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, email Wyoming Public Media’s Diana Denison at ddenison@uwyo.edu.

The Forum on Women in Wyoming’s Legislature is sponsored by Leadership Wyoming, a Wyoming Heritage Foundation and University of Wyoming program that provides opportunities for a diverse group of approximately 40 Wyoming citizens to participate in a challenging and thought-provoking nine-month educational experience.

“According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Wyoming currently ranks 50th in percentage of women in its Legislature,” the forum’s organizers say.

The forum will bring several key players together to discuss issues and identify what can be done to increase the number of women in the Wyoming Legislature. Members of Leadership Wyoming’s Class of 2016 will use information from the forum to include in their class project research. 

For those who miss the forum, a video of the event can be seen on Leadership Wyoming’s YouTube channel soon after the event. To listen to the forum, visit wyomingpublicmedia.org/how-listen-radio-online.

To send questions to the panelists, use the hashtag #wylegwomen or email Denison.

Panelists are Joan Barron, former Casper Star-Tribune journalist; Bernadine Craft, state senator (D) from Rock Springs; Marguerite Herman, Wyoming League of Women Voters lobbyist; James King, UW political science professor and author of the book “The Equality State: Government and Politics in Wyoming”; and Ruth Ann Petroff, state representative (R) from Jackson.

Caroline Ballard, Wyoming Public Media’s “Morning Edition” host, will moderate the forum.

This forum is part of an independent class project undertaken by members of Leadership Wyoming Class of 2016 for the sole purpose of providing information for their individual class project. It does not constitute any positions of Leadership Wyoming, the Wyoming Heritage Foundation or of Wyoming Public Media.