Women in Local Government

National Strategy

In response to ALGWA findings of the review of the National Framework for Women in Local Government – The Way Forward, the LGMA Board at its February meeting considered the recommendations of its Women in Local Government Working Party and adopted the following as its National Strategy.

1. LGMA supports ALGWA in attracting the necessary resources and commitment to implement the findings of the review of the National Framework for Women in Local Government – The Way Forward.

2. LGMA adopts the Year of Women in Local Government as a basis for a national program that embraces the involvement of all local government professional peak bodies, LGMA Divisions, ALGWA and LGAs.

• On 20 January 2010, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government officially launched the 2010 Year of Women in Local Government at the Sydney Town Hall on behalf of LGMA and the National Steering Committee for the Year of Women in Local Government.

3. Noting an approach has been made to the Commonwealth to fund the development of the Year of Women in Local Government program LGMA will continue to make such representations.

4. LGMA supports a scheme that encourages Councils and the sector to adopt a voluntary code intended to promote healthy and inclusive organisational cultures, equal opportunity and good governance. A voluntary code that sets out amongst other things:

4.1. Adoption of voluntary targets of women in local government decision making positions
4.2. Commitment to creating flexible work places
4.3. Adopting HR policies which reflect
4.3.1. Equal opportunity for women in local government to training and development
4.3.2. Equal opportunity for women in local government to promotion and salary increases.

5. LGMA supports the voluntary adoption of targets by the sector and individual Councils for participation of women in local government decision making positions.

6. LGMA adopts the position that mandatory quotas or targets for women in the workplace could be counter productive to our aim of improving the participation of women in local government decision making positions.

7. LGMA sets a timeframe of 2010 for review and further consideration of mandatory measures if there hasn’t been improvement against the 2008 baseline of women participating in local government decision making positions.

8. LGMA will convene a National Forum with local government professional peak bodies, LGMA Divisions, ALGWA and LGAs to commence discussions on the development and implementation of the Year of Women in Local Government program.

9. LGMA will conduct the National Forum in July-August 2008*.  

• In accordance with the national strategy on women in local government management, LGMA facilitated a national forum of representatives from local, state and commonwealth government departments, local government associations and peak industry bodies in Canberra on 2-3 September 2008. For more information on the forum including presentations and outcomes, click here.

10. LGMA will propose to the National Forum the staging of the Women in Local Government program implementation in 2009-2010 to ensure sufficient time for the program to influence the training and development calendars being rolled out by the LGMA Divisions and the various professional peak bodies.

11. LGMA will use the LGMA Divisional conferences in the lead up to the launch of the Women in Local Government program in 2009 to promote the program.

12. LGMA will establish a Women in Local Government program, consisting of the following elements:

12.1. National pilots such as reverse mentoring, where women are mentoring senior male executives, to ascertain the potential for such a program to change corporate culture.

12.2. Development programs designed to transition women into local government leadership positions.
12.3. Demonstration projects that achieve flexibility in the workplace to enable women to join local government and progress into decision making roles.
12.4. National sessions for ‘Men Only’ that raise awareness amongst male leaders and executives of the need and benefit of women in local government decision making roles.
12.5. Showcase of successful women in local government programs and the benefits achieved by those authorities that implement them.
12.6. Resource book detailing speakers (men and women) that have a message consistent with the Women in Local Government program.
12.7. ALGWA’s “health checks” should be promoted and results published in annual reports, which includes diversity statistics and voluntary targets for women in local government decision making positions.

13. LGMA will advocate on behalf of the sector to various business improvement programs, such as the Business Excellence Framework, to incorporate in their programs voluntary targets for improvement of participation of women in local government decision making positions.

14. LGMA will ‘pull the existing threads together’ and provide guidance to smaller councils on how they could actively participate in a Women in Local Government program including the adoption of voluntary targets for women in local government decision making positions and the reporting against those targets.

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Adopted LGMA National Board February 2008