On the eve of International Women's Day (IWD), the President of the peak body for the state's local government sector says equal representation in political institutions is yet to be realised, but she is heartened by the progress being made.
LGNSW President Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM addressed elected representatives and staff from councils across the state today at LGNSW's annual International Women's Day event held in Sydney. The United Nations International Women's Day 2025 theme is "March Forward".
Cr Miller said gender imbalance remained a challenge in all spheres of government, and in society more broadly. However, she was optimistic about the future.
"Our elected bodies should reflect the communities they serve, so female representation is crucial. In 1995 only 23% of councillors in NSW were female. Following the 2024 council elections, women now make up 41% of all councillors. We're moving in the right direction," Cr Miller said.
"I'm also tremendously proud that we have a female majority elected to the LGNSW board, with myself and our past president, Cr Darriea Turley AM, having had the privilege of leading the organisation in this board term."
LGNSW continued to advocate strongly for gender equity, with pleasing results over the past 12 months.
"We made a submission on the Australian government's National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equity and had an important win for early childhood education and care. This was part of larger reforms in that sector, following inquiries by the Productivity and Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions, to which LGNSW also made submissions," Cr Miller said.
"High quality, universally accessible and affordable early childhood education and care is part of our Policy Platform, as is calling for legislation to require councils to plan, implement strategies and report on gender equity in the workplace, with funding support from the NSW Government."
The keynote speaker at the LGNSW event was award-winning author and an international keynote speaker and entrepreneur Pauline Nguyen. She shared her extraordinary story of resilience and spoke of the importance of valuing growth and gratitude. She told the audience to march forward and overcome their fears by looking fear directly in the face, and that the universe rewarded those who were "unreasonably determined".
