For many years when I walked into a room I instantly counted the women. It told me a lot about what to expect from that room. One day, having lost my best friend over racial politics out of my control, I began to count people of color. That too was for safety, for understanding how my views would be taken. That too told me a lot I needed to know about the room. But it also hinted to me about a whole realm of experience I wasn’t having.
“Count“, Quinn Norton
In my last post, What is the percentage representation of women of the City of Windsor’s Council, Advisory Groups, Agencies, Boards, and Committees? I came up with the number of 36%. But, my analysis wasn’t complete because I was still missing the membership of:
- Street and Alley Closing Committee
- Willistead Board of Directors
So I emailed 311 and found out that despite its inclusion on the City of Windsor’s website, “The City of Windsor does not have a Street and Alley Closing Committee. Street and Alley closures are dealt with at the Development & Heritage Standing Committee.” 311 also kindly gave me the membership of the current Willistead Board of Directors.
It’s not simple to edit an already published graph on Graph Commons, so I made a second, updated version with this last bit of information.
Of the 170 members of City Council and its related boards, 61 members are women. The percentage is unchanged from my original calculation: 36%
Now, you wouldn’t know it from The City of Windsor’s social media streams, but the City of Windsor is looking for interested persons to join a Development Charges Task Force:
City Council is seeking interested persons to serve on a task force for updating the Development Charges Background Study and the Development Charges By-law. Terms of reference for the Development Charges Task Force are attached. Deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, August 22, 2019.
Concerned about sprawl or the city of Windsor’s ability to pay for existing and future infrastructure costs? You might want to put your name forward.
This is what I ask: when you walk into a room, count. Count the women. Count the people of color. Count by race. Look for who isn’t there. Look for class signs: the crooked teeth of childhoods without braces, worn-out shoes, someone else who is counting. Look for the queers, the older people, the overweight. Note them, see them, see yourself looking, see yourself reacting. This is how we begin.
“Count“, Quinn Norton