Women in Local Government

2010 Year of Women in Local Government

Visit the Year of Women in Local Government 2010 website

Introduction

The topic of women in local government and in particular women in management positions has been around for a long time. All levels of government are acutely aware of the barriers facing women in management positions, yet the advancement and promotion of women into leadership positions has seen little improvement.

The participation of women in local government will become more critical to our sector as more and more baby boomers retire over the next decade. Without women, our sector simply does not have the depth of executive talent to survive.

Current Statistics

• Only 20% of women are represented in senior management roles in the local government workforce, and only 5% of chief executives or general managers are women.
• The Australian Local Government Women’s Association’s National Framework for Women in Local Government’s review – The Way Forward (2007), identified women account for less than 30% of elected officials.
• The issue of promoting women into senior management positions is not limited to the local government sector. The EOWA figures show a decline in the number of women in top executive roles in the corporate sector from 10% (2006) to 8% (2008).
• These figures are also reflected at board level, where the number of females on boards has decreased from 8.7% to 8.3%.

Year of Women in Local Government

In February 2008, the LGMA National board adopted a national strategy to advance women in local government into senior management positions. A key strategy platform is the development and promotion of a Year of Women in Local Government in 2010.

To ensure this initiative was relevant to the sector, a national forum of representatives from local, state and federal government departments, local government associations and professional peak bodies was held on 2-3 September 2008 at the Rydges Lakeside, Canberra.

Five key issues to advancing women into senior management positions were identified during the forum. These include:

• Removing structural barriers to the advancement of women into senior management positions;
• Improving the image of local government an as employer of choice for women;
• Preparing women to lead and succeed;
• Affirming women’s rights to be “at the table”; and
• Implementing effective evaluation methods for measuring meaningful progress.

In an overwhelming show of solidarity by all levels of government, peak professional bodies and local government representatives, it was concluded that LGMA facilitate a Year of Women in Local Government in 2010 to raise awareness and educate the local government sector on the value and contribution of women in senior management roles.

Objectives

The Year of Women in Local Government will be designed to meet the following objectives:

• Raise the awareness of the need to increase the participation of women in local government (particularly in management);
• Encourage councils to establish targets to:
  • Increase the participation of local government women in decision making roles;
  • Increase the participation of local government women in management and leadership training;
• Encourage councils to adopt modern HR practices; and
• Establish more flexible ways of working

The program of events

The Year of Women in Local Government program will consist of a range of events and activities that will:

• Raise awareness and educate the sector on the future needs at the executive level and the important role that women in management play in terms of effectiveness and long term survival of our sector;
• Specifically target elected members responsible for employing Chief Executives in order to influence their future employment, development and succession planning practices;
• These sessions will reach out to existing male Chief Executives to influence their future employment, development and succession planning practices;
• These sessions will reach out to existing female Chief Executive to promote their role in supporting women into senior management positions;
• Provide networking and information sharing opportunities for women aspiring to leadership and decision making roles, including elected members;
• Provide professional development and training as well as personal development opportunities for women to enable them to achieve their desired roles in the sector;
• Promote best practice in diversity management, flexible work practices, professional development and succession planning.

Implementation

The implementation of the Year of Women in Local Government will be undertaken in conjunction with Australian local government professional peak bodies, local government associations, state and commonwealth departments and agencies.

A National Steering Committee for Year of Women in Local Government comprising representatives from all key stakeholders will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the business plan.

Conclusion

There has been no shortage of activities within the local government sector in the last five years designed to promote the participation of women in management. The most recent reviews have revealed that even against the backdrop of this activity there has been little improvement in the overall number of women in leadership positions.

In order for our sector to survive, we need a concerted effort to raise the issue nationally through a sustained national campaign. Only with this level of commitment and cooperation will the Year of Women in Local Government be a success.

For more information contact LGMA National on 03 9682 9222 or email national@lgma.org.au. or here