Liberal groups' latest report on rural electric cooperative boards shows them to be overwhelmingly white and male

Percentage of women on rural electric cooperative boards, in ranges, by state. (Rural Power Project map)

Rural electric cooperatives are major economic players in their communities, and reliably one of the most effective ways to bring high-speed broadband internet to rural areas. But their elected boards are overwhelmingly white and male, leaving rural women and racial minorities under-represented, according to a new report from two liberal groups, ACORN International and the Labor Neighbor Research and Training Center. Their joint Rural Power Project has been assessing co-op boards' gender and racial equity since 2016. As of this year, women made up 12.6% of the boards and people of color, who make up 24% of the rural population, only hold 4% of board seats. 

About 30% of co-ops had no female board members, and all but six out of the 888 surveyed had male-majority boards. New Hampshire's board had the largest share of female members, 45.5%, but the next-highest, Vermont, had only 28.6%. At the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia's board had no women at all, and Nebraska had only 4.8% female board members.

Percentage of non-white members on rural electric cooperative boards in ranges by state. (Rural Power Project map)

The boards didn't fare much better in racial diversity. "Of the 6,198 REC board members across the country for whom we could make a reasonable determination about racial identity, 96% were white. Just 2.4% were Black, 0.9% Hispanic, 0.5% Native American, and 0.2% Asian American," says the report. "Of 697 cooperative boards whose racial demographics we could assess, 557 of those boards – 80% –were all white. While people of color make up majorities of 10% of rural counties, there were only 11 majority nonwhite cooperative boards (1.6%)." ACORN sees the lack of diversity as "an act of exclusion," its research director, David Thompson, told Kristi Eaton of The Daily Yonder.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association says in a statement on its Mission page that the co-ops "are built by and belong to the diverse communities and consumer-members they serve. They are founded on seven principles that set them apart from other businesses. Concern for community and the open, democratic structure of co-ops are two of these core principles. With these foundational concepts in mind, NRECA supports electric cooperatives as they strive to serve their communities and work to enhance quality of life for their consumer-members. As an employer and an advocate, NRECA is committed to a positive, inclusive culture. We support policies that foster employee growth and success without fear of discrimination. The ongoing conversation about racism demands that we recognize how we can contribute to a more transparent, fair and accountable society. NRECA, its leadership and employees are expected to play a leadership role in rejecting racism, speaking against injustice, and demonstrating the value of diversity, equity and inclusion."

NRECA and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., which makes federally backed loans to the co-ops, created a task force to examine co-op governance in 2017. "The task force completed the report in February 2018, but never published it," says the Energy and Policy Institute, which says it works to "expose attacks on renewable energy and counter misinformation by fossil fuel and utility interests." EPI republished the report after it was published on a co-op website and cited in an investigative report on South Carolina co-ops by The State, the daily newspaper in Columbia. Each page of the 69-page task-force report says it is “For NRECA and CFC Voting Members Only.”