Despite Bulging Binders, Mitt Romney Was Awful at Hiring Women as Massachusetts Governor

We now know that Mitt Romney’s awkward, weird story of how Mitt Romney, feminist, had his advisors compile “binders full of women” for him to hire when he was the governor of Massachusetts is a binder full of lies, since the binders were actually financed and compiled by a bipartisan coalition and handed to Romney on his first day in office. But did you know that Mitt Romney did not only not spearhead a female equality movement while in office, he actually ignored most of the women contained in his teeming, overflowing binders?

MassGAP, or the Massachusetts Government Appointments Project was the name of the initiative designed to improve the dismal gender imbalance in state government. Today, one of the groups behind MassGAP, the nonpartisan Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, released a statement about the project and Mitt Romney’s role — or lack thereof— in hiring women to work for him.

Prior to the 2002 gubernatorial election, MassGAP approached the campaigns of candidates Shannon O’Brien and Mitt Romney and asked them both to commit to: (1).”Make best efforts” to ensure that the number of women in appointed state positions is proportionate to the population of women in Massachusetts; (2). Select a transition team whose composition is proportionate to the women in the Commonwealth; and (3). Meet with MassGAP representatives regularly during the appointments process. Both campaigns made a commitment to this process.

Following the election, MassGAP formed committees for each cabinet post in the administration and began the process of recruiting, interviewing, and vetting women applicants. Those committees selected top applicants for each position and presented this information to the administration for follow-up interviews and consideration for appointment.

Prior to the 2002 election, women comprised approximately 30 percent of appointed senior-level positions in Massachusetts government. By 2004, 42 percent of the new appointments made by the Romney administration were women. Subsequently, however, from 2004-2006 the percentage of newly-appointed women in these senior appointed positions dropped to 25 percent

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To review: last night, Mitt Romney attempted to bolster his credentials with female voters by claiming ownership of a program that he didn’t start, didn’t pay for, and didn’t follow.

Why, Romney?! Why?

None of this has stopped the GOP from releasing a new graphic today featuring an empty binder, along with the words “Obama’s Second Term Agenda,” which I guess is supposed to be funny even though it refers to a big, embarrassing lie that their candidate told during a debate he lost. I don’t even understand what those fucking knuckleheads are doing anymore.