Jackson Free Press

Dr. Marianne Hill, senior economist at the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, wants to see the status of women improve in Mississippi.

In addition to editing the Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook and predicting the state's economic forecast, Hill, 64, is a member of the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women. The commission is made of up 13 volunteers from various parts of the state and a paid executive director, who together compile data in an annual report that demonstrates the gap between women and men in Mississippi.

"The comission has a main emphasis on providing information about the status of women, helping to ensure more women are considered for public boards and letting those (boards) know about qualified women who are capable to serve," Hill told the Jackson Free Press, regardless of political affiliation. "The commission is a non-partisan supporter," Hill said.

This week, Gov. Haley Barbour recommended ending state funding for organization. Hill, who helped write the commission's 2009 annual report, says because it's a volunteer-based commission, it can operate with low costs. But losing state funding means the commission may be unable to find funds for expenses like travel reimbursement and Web site development.

"It's certainly not the case that we would dissolve without funding," Hill said. "We functioned for several years without state funding." Hill said the commission started in 2001 but did not receive state funding until 2007.

"It takes effort for getting funding to improve the status of women," she said. "If men are doing better, it can become a gender-neutral issue with lawmakers assuming women will do better. But they aren't thinking about creating access to child care. Women have a primary responsibility to care for children, and in addition to that they get paid less than men."

Hill moved to Jackson in 1990 from Ohio to work at the IHL She received her doctorate in economics from Yale University, and said she to chose to work in a field where she could use math to make society better. She currently lives in Madison with her 23-year-old daughter, Rosie.