As part of its commitment to the 2010 ‘Year of Women in Local Government’, the Federal Government will provide $490,000 for a range of projects to help improve the participation of women across the nation’s councils and shires.
The announcement was made in October at the meeting of the Local Government and Planning Ministers’ Council in Darwin.
Data shows that less than 30 per cent of councillors are women; 20 per cent of senior management roles are filled by women; and only seven per cent of council CEOs are women.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, said this disparity is unacceptable and the Government is working with the sector to lift the participation of women.
As part of this commitment, the Government is funding the following programs:
- $250,000 for a three year ‘50:50 Vision
Councils for Gender Equity’ program – to be
conducted by the Australian Local Government
Women’s Association (ALGWA), this
program will audit councils and shires
to determine the status and role of women
in leadership roles as well as their participation
in the workplace. The program will also
accredit councils and shires, and establish an
awards program to recognise excellence. - $100,000 in scholarship funding to enable
senior women in Local Government to
participate in the new Executive Leadership
Program being developed by the recently
established Australian Centre of Excellence
for Local Government and the Australia and
New Zealand School of Government. - $100,000 to improve the collection of data
and reporting on the status of women in the
Local Government sector. - $40,000 will be provided to Local Government
Managers Australia (LGMA) for its 2010
Management Challenge, which will involve
around 130 councils identifying strategies to
promote gender equity in their councils.
“Through this funding, the Government is taking concrete steps to identify and address the barriers that are preventing more women from becoming involved in the Local Government sector,” Minister Albanese said.
“As the level of government closest to the people, it is vital that Local Government represent and govern for the entire community.”
