The Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) Victorian branch conference was hosted last month by Maroondah City Council in Melbourne’s outer east.
The weekend conference was designed specifically for women in Local Government and provided the opportunity to talk with a distinct gender bias about effective, engaging and resilient community leadership.
Speakers included Libbi Gorr, Melbourne radio and television broadcaster, writer and performer; Jo Stanley, comedian, writer, actor and radio presenter, change activator Michelle McQuaid and ‘The Queen of Confidence’, positive body image activist, Erika Cramer.
ALGWA National President, Councillor Coral Ross, addressed the group with an update on the 50/50 Vision saying at the current rate of progress it would take the nation until 2063 to reach parity of gender representation in local government.
Cr Ross, recipient of a coveted Churchill Fellowship, said that she planned to use her study tour to learn from local government organisations overseas that had already ‘invented the wheel’ and called for local research that would give measurable data on progress and the barriers to female representation at the local level.
