Indiana’s perennial lackluster showing among the 50 states extends to the percentage of women serving in the General Assembly, where a new survey places it 31st. That’s a considerable improvement over last year’s rank of 36. But a legislative body where only 22 percent of the members are female still is nothing to crow about. Colorado has the highest proportion of women in the legislature, 39 percent.

The Rutgers University survey doesn’t break down representation by region, but it’s not hard to compute: Only 5 percent of the northeast Indiana delegation is female. That’s one out of 19 lawmakers, an embarrassingly low figure. Before next spring’s primaries, both political parties should study their ranks and encourage strong female candidates to step up and run.

Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, holds the distinction as the region’s only female lawmaker, one she’s held since Rep. Gloria Goeglein died in 2001. Numerous vacancies have arisen since that time, and four general elections have passed with no female candidates. Pond herself failed in a caucus bid for a Senate seat in 2004.

A retired kindergarten teacher, the 20-year House member acknowledges that it’s tough for women to balance family, career and public service in Indianapolis. Pond first sought office when the youngest of her three children was in college.

“Women want to raise their families. By the time they raise their families, they are too smart to run for office,” she quipped. “I wish more women would run that really want to get in there and make a difference.”

Pond said she believes women bring a different approach to the Statehouse – less interested in climbing the leadership ladder and more interested in issues.

Which issues they champion is also distinct. The General Assembly has an overabundance of economic development champions and too few watchdogs for health and human services. Not surprisingly, the legislative push for oversight of the ill-conceived welfare eligibility outsourcing deal is almost entirely female-driven, a bipartisan effort by Sen. Vaneta Becker and Reps. Suzanne Crouch, Peggy Welch and Gail Riecken.

Goeglein was a passionate voice for Hoosiers with disabilities, including mental illness, while Pond has tirelessly sought ethics reforms.

“A lot of men are using (their legislative seats) as a stepping stone,” she said. “They go into leadership or they go to work as a lobbyist and make tons of money. I think (women) make decisions based more on family reasons than on political reasons.”

Pond said she will be a candidate for re-election in 2010 and possibly one or two more terms. She said she would like to have more women join her in the northeast Indiana delegation.

The harsh reality of the new two-year budget just approved will take some time for Hoosiers to feel the effects, but the issues that seem to fall most often to the General Assembly’s female lawmakers – human services, health and education – will be disproportionately affected. They will demand more attention in the next session and would benefit from the oversight of a legislative body that more closely resembles Indiana’s population.