Former Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek and former Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Maxine McKew launched ALGWA’s 50:50 Vision – Councils for Gender Equity program at the Australian Council of Local Governments’ dinner held at Parliament House in June 2010. The program is the first national accreditation and awards program that encourages councils to address gender equity issues within their organisation and among elected members. It has been designed to be accessed by all councils regardless of their size, location and progress on gender equity.
Councils are able to apply for accreditation at three levels – bronze, silver and gold – and must move through these levels sequentially.
Some 22 councils collected their Bronze Awards at the Australian Local Government Womens Association (ALGWA) national conference dinner in Ryde, New South Wales last November. Themed ‘Women Going Places’, the conference officially closed 2010 as the Year of Women in Local Government.
The councils, which represented all States across Australia, are the first to achieve the Bronze Award and accreditation. Councils ranged in size from Sutherland Shire Council in New South Wales with over 1,000 employees, to Waratah – Wynyard Council in Tasmania with 82 staff.
To qualify for the award councils had to provide details of at least one project designed to address gender equity issues within the organisation, and provide benchmark gender measurements, against which, their progress can be measured.
An inspiring range of projects were submitted, including leadership workshops, mentoring programs and reviews of HR policies and procedures.
Many of the projects were designed to go beyond ‘awareness raising’ to bring about real change in organisational gender balance, or to increase representation of women among elected candidates.
Councils that received the Bronze Award include:
New South Wales
Bankstown, Broken Hill, Canada Bay, Ryde, Holroyd, Penrith, Queanbeyan and Wollongong City Councils; Leichhardt Municipal Council; and Sutherland Shire Council.
Victoria
Cardinia and Nillumbik Shire Councils; the Cities of Ballarat and Boroondara; and Whitehorse Council.
Queensland
Central Highlands Regional Council.
Tasmania
Circular Head Council, Devonport City Council, and Waratah-Wynyard Council.
Western Australia
City of Nedlands and Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.
South Australia
City of Unley.
Northern Territory
Darwin City Council and Tiwi Islands Shire Council.
For more information on how your Council can participate in 50:50 Vision and achieve bronze, silver and gold accreditation visit the website at www.5050vision.com.au.
