While racial, gender and political diversity are required by law on some boards, Mr. Voinovich has used his discretionary appointment power to reward his friends, campaign supporters and the party faithful. 
Appointees contributed more than $1.1 million to Mr. Voinovich's campaign fund between 1990 and 1996, according to an analysis of records filed with Secretary of State Bob Taft's office.
Fifty-seven of the appointments went to people on a list of the governor's largest contributors and fund-raisers that was kept in the state office of Paul Mifsud, Mr. Voinovich's former chief of staff.
Thirty-two of the appointments went to Republican county chairmen or members of the state GOP's executive committee. The governor also selected several former Republican state legislators to serve on boards.
Most of the boards and commissions are obscure compared to elected officials and cabinet-level agencies. But some have considerable influence over the everyday lives of Ohioans.
Among other things, they regulate doctors, accountants and Realtors. Some panels oversee state universities and billions of dollars in bonds for state buildings and the Ohio Turnpike. Others set utility rates, resolve tax disputes, weigh civil rights complaints and decide workers' compensation claims.
The women's commission is one of only two panels that is exclusively female. It also is the only board required by law to "reflect the diversity of Ohio's population with respect to age, crace and ethnic background."
In an interview, Mr. Voinovich alternately defended his record and vowed he opposes "racial or gender quotas."
"We have tried to the best of our ability to support diversity, but the key to this is to have people working in responsible positions who are sensitive to the needs of all Ohioans," Mr. Voinovich said. "This governor is not going to appoint a person to a position just because I want an African-American or a woman for window dressing." Of the 2,283 people Mr. Voinovich appointed to boards and commissions between 1991 and 1997, just 716 (31 percent) were women, according to the Enquirer's computer analysis of records provided by the governor's office.
The annual tally of women appointees peaked at 156 in 1994 before dipping to 120 last year.
State lawmakers created the women's commission in 1990 to address an historical lack of women appointed to positions in state government. Its members are directed by law to improve gender equity by compiling a database of women interested in public service, then lobbying the governor's office to appoint them.
Seven years after the panel began its work, it has made little progress in the Voinovich administration.
For instance, the commission was successful in placing only seven of 19 women suggested to the governor's office for appointments in 1993, according to the panel's annual report. Five of those appointments were to the women's commission itself, leaving only two women who were selected for other boards and commissions.
"There is a sentiment out there that women have equal rights, but the glass ceiling still exists in state government," said Donna B. Hart of Springfield, the commission's chairwoman.
While a lack of women in top policy jobs isn't unique to Ohio, a national survey conducted last year found the state ranked 43rd out of the 50 states in appointing women to state-level executive branch positions.
Women account for nearly 52 percent of Ohio's population, yet they represent 20 percent of appointed policy positions in the state, according to the Center for Women in Government at the State University of New York in Albany.
The center's data, collected from governors' offices across the country, included board and commission members as well as other top advisers such agency directors, legislative liaisons, lawyers and press staff.
"The federal government is giving more power to the states," said Judith Sidel, the center's executive director. "With all that power flowing out of Washington, it matters more than ever who is participating in a range of decisions being made in state capitals."
States with a higher representation of women in policy-making positions, such as Vermont, New Hampshire and North Carolina, tend to have governors who have included women in the inner circle of their campaign staffs, Ms. Sidel said.
"We found that people who are active in a governor's campaign frequently are rewarded with appointments," she said.
A lack of qualified women in Ohio isn't the issue.
When Mr. Voinovich's office issued press release proclaiming Aug. 26, 1997, as "Women's Equality Day," the governor boasted that Ohio is ranked sixth in the nation in the number of women-owned businesses. Thirty-seven percent of all businesses in the state are owned by women, Mr. Voinovich said.
Yet most of his boards and commissions with a balance of men and women are related to the arts, such as the Ohio Arts Council, or social welfare issues, such as the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. Three key boards that defy that characterization are the Public Utilities Commission, the State Employment Relations Board and the State Personnel Board of Review.
In an era when private corporations are striving to make their workplaces more diverse, most of the desirable state boards that provide compensation or power still are dominated by men. Examples include the Ohio State University Board of Trustees, the UC Board of Trustees, the Ohio Industrial Commission, the State Medical Board and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
Key legislators and some Voinovich administration officials said they were surprised by the results of the Enquirer's analysis. "I've raised the issue a couple of times, but it's not a guiding principle for me," said Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister, who often is held up as an example of the Voinovich administration's commitment to gender equity. "To appoint a female or ethnic or minority simply to appoint them serves no purpose."
"We've made some great strides, but there still is a need for greater progress," said House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, the first woman to ascend to one of Ohio's top legislative offices. Women's commission members, meanwhile, said they backed off their aggressive approach as legislation moved through the General Assembly two years ago that trimmed the always-growing list of boards and commissions.
Uncertainty about which boards would remain made it difficult to recruit women, Ms. Hart said. Moreover, commission members didn't want to make themselves a target for elimination.
"There are plenty of qualified women out there, but we frankly weren't able to influence appointments," Ms. Hart said. "We ultimately decided it wasn't a good use of our limited time and resources." Ms. Davidson and other Republican women suggested that professional women need to be more aggressive if they want a gubernatorial appointment. As the future House speaker rose through the Republican ranks in the late 1970s, she met monthly with a group of women to brainstorm about ways to get more women into state government. Their work finally paid off for two members of the group in 1994 when Ms. Davidson was elected speaker and Republican Betty Montgomery won her bid for attorney general.
"Unfortunately, my schedule doesn't allow me to do that anymore," Ms. Davidson said of her efforts to boost the representation of women.
Mary Sullivan, a Cincinnati attorney, said it is difficult to juggle the demands of a career and family with the added responsibility of public service.
Yet she combines being a lawyer and raising a child while chairing the Ohio Elections Commission and, until recently, serving on the state Development Financing Advisory Board.
"I don't think it's the governor's fault that there aren't more women on these boards," said Ms. Sullivan, who described herself as a lifelong Republican. "I think it's difficult for many women to add that kind of responsibility to their lives." Other female appointees, though, say governors need to do a better job seeking out candidates outside the state's traditional male-oriented power structure.
Women may soon have several references to help crack the glass ceiling.
A group of regional women's commissions from around the state is considering an update of a 1992 publication that listed the responsibilities and qualifications of every board. Moreover, a list of boards and commissions is available on the Legislative Service Commission's web site: www.lsc.state.oh.us.
"I view myself as an in-the-know professional woman, and yet I didn't know most of these boards even existed until a few years ago," said Ms. Livensparger. "Women's groups need to get in people's faces about this so we don't miss the boat."
