While serving as Bloomington City Council president, Zietlow noticed a lack of emphasis on the status of women in the city.
“It started because I was really concerned about unemployment for women,” Zietlow said. “People didn’t pay any attention to the fact that women were underemployed and unemployed.”
She visited cities across the state to see how other local governments approached the issue. Many had made progress on the issue, with cities as large as Fort Wayne creating governmental bodies focused on improving conditions for women.
That December, she introduced an idea to the Council — the first step in what would become the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women.
“I got a bunch of people together from throughout the community and said, ‘Do we do something about this?’” Zietlow said. “The Mayor said no, it’ll compete with the Human Rights Commission. I said, no, this isn’t a matter of rights, it’s a matter of understanding the status of women.”
Zietlow’s proposal was vetoed by then-Mayor Frank McCloskey but was ?approved by the City Council in February 1974.
Forty years later, a small group of Commission members gathered at the City Council chambers to celebrate Mayor Mark Kruzan’s proclamation that Wednesday is Commission on the Status of Women Day.
“For four decades, the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women has inspired, empowered and supported the women of our community and, in doing so, has made Bloomington a more caring, positive and engaging place to live,” Kruzan’s proclamation read.
Today, the Commission serves as a citywide effort to improve the status of Bloomington women. Commission programs focus on raising awareness of women’s issues and educating women on how to find solutions to common problems.
“Essentially, we try to keep tabs on the community,” Commission Chair Cathi Crabtree said. “Social, political, economic, educational, we see how women are doing and see how we can impact that for the better.”
Typically, the Commission’s calendar is centered around an annual Women’s History Month Lunch, which takes place every March, and a series of programs to develop women’s leadership skills. The Commission annually honors outstanding women in the community with its Woman of the Year and Lifetime Contribution Awards, which are presented each March.
Crabtree said while the Commission has made progress on women’s issues during the past 40 years, the women of Bloomington fare no better than they do in the rest of the country.
“We’re not an anomaly or anything,” she said. “I love Bloomington, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. Economically, we fare about the same as women across the United States. The Commission is still relevant today. We have come so far since 1974, but we still have so much more to do.”
