OSU students complete 2010 report on the status of Oklahoma women, present findings to Lt. Governor and state commission

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Oklahoma State University students and their professor teamed up with The Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women and the Women’s Archives at the OSU Library to produce a comprehensive statistical profile of the status of women in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. “Oklahoma Women’s County Status: Baseline Statistical Report, 2010” was given to Lt. Governor Jari Askins when she visited the OSU campus in Stillwater Thursday to meet with the students and is being officially released to the commission during its Incarceration of Oklahoma Women Solutions Initiative Summit Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Oklahoma National Guard Training Institute located at 63rd & Kelly in Oklahoma City.

“I am proud to see these students putting forth such time and effort; the findings of this report could very well affect future legislation and policy. It is important to continually evaluate the status of women in this state so we can do everything possible to make improvements,” said Lt. Governor Askins.

This report is one of a number of collaborative endeavors between OSU and the Commission on the Status of Women in recent years.

“This 244-page report looks at sixty-one indicators in seven areas,” said OSU Regents Professor Bob Darcy. “The indicators include demographics, politics, economic participation, social autonomy, pregnancy, health and criminal justice.”

The report also includes 61 tables and 61 maps documenting each county’s status with color codes for high and low values. Accompanying the tables and maps are narratives relating national and Oklahoma trends, rankings showing how Oklahoma compares to other states, and links to state and national government websites plus links to other organizations for further information. In addition, an appendix explains exactly how the data was obtained and crafted into the tables and maps.

The report was prepared by 40 women & politics students over the course of two semesters and a geography freshman, Andrew Potter, created the maps over several months.

“Working on this project increased my knowledge of Oklahoma women, and women throughout the United States,” Brooke Feachen, an OSU Journalism and Broadcasting senior, said. “It was nice to work with real world issues instead of hypothetical scenarios. Walking away with tangible results was well worth the hard work each of us put in.”

Katie Kautz, junior Political Science major from Mustang said “Working on this project has given me a greater insight into the status of women in Oklahoma relative to the nation as a whole. While in some areas we are doing okay, it was eye opening to see the obvious need for improvement across the board. Clearly, we still have a long way to go, but I don't think that the obstacles are insurmountable.”

Jennifer Paustenbaugh, Director of the Women’s Archives at the OSU Library, past Commission chair and consultant on the project, said, “The opportunity to partner with the Commission to provide baseline data on how women are faring around Oklahoma is an important first step in addressing issues critical to the future of our great state. We look forward to working with the legislature, government agencies, nonprofit groups and others to improve the quality of life for Oklahoma women and girls.”

A very limited number of copies are available from the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women. The entire report can be accessed at http://women.library.okstate.edu or by linking to the Commission website at http://www.ok.gov/ocsw/.