Women's History Month Remarks

Mr. Mayor, thank you for indulging me. March is Women’s History Month. And with that, I want to take a moment to recognize the amazing women that power Maple Grove. As of December 31st, 2022, twenty nine percent of our active city employees self-identified as female. This is slightly down from recent years, but I’m confident we have the right initiatives in place to continue to recruit talent toward getting closer little by little to the percentage of females in our resident population, which is around 52%.

Of our city’s largest departments, 37% of Parks & Rec staff, 29% of police, 14% of fire, and 9% of public works identify as female. The female cops and firefighters I have encountered are some of the strongest and most courageous women I have ever met. And our parks, public works, and other female staff are dedicated, organized, and committed to public service. They take great pride in their work.  

I’d also like to celebrate the women in top leadership roles in the city. Krista Guzman, who provided me this employment data, is our Human Resources Director. City administrator Heidi Nelson is our top staff official. Finally, I’d like to celebrate my women colleagues, Council Member Hanson, Council Member Barnett, and Council Member Johnson. Thanks for your leadership.