COUNCILLOR Helen Healy is encouraging more women to run for a spot on Mildura Rural City Council in the upcoming October elections.
Cr Healy holds the Community Development and Gender Equality portfolio and believes it’s time to see an equal number of men and women on council.
“I’m hoping for more diversity in the chamber than we already have but one of the obvious shortcomings is the number of women in council at the moment,” she said.
Currently only two out of the nine Mildura councillors are women.
Cr Healy said since Mildura Rural City Council was formed in the mid-1990s it had never achieved true gender parity.
“I would like our council to be more representative of our community so let’s start with 50/50 women,” Cr Healy said.
“The target by the Victorian Government is 50/50 by the 2024 elections, so at this election it’s really important to be on that road.”
Cr Healy joined Mildura Council in 2019 following Member for Mildura Ali Cupper’s election to the Victorian Parliament.
Ms Cupper spent one-and-a-half terms on council and loved every second of it.
But she said the idea of running for local government could be intimidating to some women.
“I think to make the system more accommodating for women we need brave women to step-up into the fray to try and shape it to be more inclusive,” she said.
“It’s tough, it takes a lot of guts and it takes courage but it’s important to do and women have it in them to are needed in local government.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster said she does not believe in gender quotas, but maintained that women played an important role in all levels of government.
“I think really the issue is, is that women need to believe in themselves,” Dr Webster said.
“They need to understand that they can bring something to the table that is valuable, worthwhile and important for the community.”
Cr Healy said recent Australian research by the federal Workplace Gender Equality Agency showed that organisations did better when they appointed women to leadership positions.
“Fifty per cent of the world are women so we need to be represented around the table and we need to encourage women to step-up,” Cr Healy said.
For more information on running see the Mildura Council website.
