Hannah Hammoud
Applications are now open for the second round of the state government’s women leading locally program, which seeks to build gender equality on local government councils by 2025.
The program aims to help more women become leaders in their community by providing training and mentoring to boost their chances of being elected as local councillors.
Applications are open to women living in council areas where women were most under-represented at the October 2020 local government elections. Hume council was identified as a one of 32 priority local government areas, alongside the inclusion of the Whittlesea council to support their return to elected council in 2024.
Hume councillor Karen Sherry says that this program acknowledges that women generally start from a different place than men.
“Achieving equal gender representation in leadership positions requires addressing access and equity issues,” she said.
“In general, I see a bright future for women in local government; not only as elected representatives but also at the executive level.”
In 2020, Victoria set a new national record for female representation with women making up 43.8 per cent of elected councillors at the last local government elections.
YMCA Victoria youth voice manager and Hume resident Emily Greco began the program in 2022. She says that she is looking forward to combining the training she is receiving with her passion for inspiring and empowering young people to create the change they want to see in the world.
“Before this program, the idea of running for local council was daunting and it seemed like an exclusive club where people spoke a different language,” she said.
“This training has broken down a lot of those barriers and taught me that anyone with a passion for their local community has a right to run for council.”
Applications for round two of program are open until Friday, April 14.
Information: www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au.
