We encourage greater participation of women in local government as councillors and senior managers in recognition of on-going under-representation of women in this field.

In Victoria only 30 per cent of councillors are women. There are currently no female councillors in five councils and there is only one female councillor in 14 councils.

Research has shown that when women stand for council they are just as likely as men to be elected; however, they often don't stand for election.

We support increasing the number of women participating in local government by:

• endorsing the Victorian local government Women’s charter principles [PDF], which are gender equity, diversity and active citizenship
• promoting the Australian Local Government Women’s Association’s activities and the national framework for women in local government 
• participating as an active member of the Women’s Participation in Local Government Coalition (WPILGC), including supporting the biennial Victorian Local Government Women’s Charter Awards [PDF]
• ensuring that our events and training that encourage people to stand for council election are welcoming and attractive to female participants
• encouraging councils to adopt women-inclusive initiatives to increase greater participation of women at political and community levels

Grants & funding

We received a grant from the Office of Women's Policy to run women's charter activities on behalf of the WPILGC. The final report of the project shows examples of action plans and models that work. A women's charter checklist also provides ideas for actions councils can take.

We sit on an audit committee that oversees grant funding provided to the WPILGC by state government agencies and organisations.