In opening the 2010 Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) – Victoria Conference, City of Melbourne Councillor Cathy Oke highlighted the importance of role models and mentors.
She said that finding a balance between family, social and working life is not easy and prevents people from running for council. However, the City of Melbourne has been lucky to have a number of strong women figures to lead the way.
“Women have been able to stand for Local Government election in Victoria since 1914, however it was not until 1967, that Clare Cascarret became the first woman to enter what was previously an exclusive men’s club at the City of Melbourne,” Councillor Oke said.
“Inspired by her mother, who was previously the Mayor of Kew, she herself became a role model for other women to follow.”
While Melbourne has only had two female Lord Mayors since then, and continues to have an average number of female elected members (30 per cent), its statistics in other areas are promising. Some 40 per cent of senior managers and executive level staff are women – double the nationwide average of 20 per cent – and its female CEO is one of only five per cent nationally.
Councillor Oke said we must dispel the common notion that women are not leaders or decisive decisionmakers.
“We must challenge this thinking as it is still predominantly seen that way in the media and the whole society,” she said.
“A linear career path rarely exists for women, but with the retirement of a large number of baby boomers in coming years, great opportunities exist.
“Half our population is made up of women, and we cannot rest until our governments represent that.”
Also speaking at the conference, Executive Director of the Australian Centre of Excellence in Local Government, Professor Graham Sansom, warned that the 2010 Year of Women in Local Government still needs work to make it a success, but he is optimistic it will come together well.
“The Local Government and Planning Minister’s Council has adopted a strategy paper on women in Local Government, setting out a broad program that the Ministers will support,” he said. “This is the first time we have had a clear, agreed statement from all Local Government Ministers around the country to address issues regarding women in government.”
Key components of the strategy paper include an awards program and a data collection program managed by ALGWA.
Graham Sansom said the awards program is crucial to the way forward.
“The awards focus on sustained cultural change, not just one off projects,” he said. “The three levels – bronze, silver and gold – mean that councils will have to demonstrate sustained improvement to progress, using things like culture climate surveys and peer reviews. This is a point of great promise and an opportunity to develop a really concerted effort within a strategy framework.”
The awards program will be linked to a data project, which is a nationally consistent package to monitor strategy implementation.
Professor Sansom said it is critical that the strategies of Women in Local Government are aligned with the three key challenges facing Local Government as a whole: relevance, capacity and credibility.
“If we don’t show that we are responding to the general needs of our communities and providing the right services, we are not going to be seen as relevant, regardless of the makeup of our council staff,” he said. “We also need to be seen as employers of choice. But if we are going to generate that capacity, we must make better use of half the population. Women are looking for opportunities for training and progression and councils everywhere should be providing this.
“Lastly, we need a better image and better governance, including decisionmaking, to become more credible and inclusive.
“If we tackle these issues and link them to women in Local Government, it will lead to excellence.”
