2012 LGMA National Congress and Business Expo

Gender balance in local government

A number of workshops, sessions and keynote presentations will examine the current gender balance in senior management positions in local government.

The McArthur Gender Balance Report December 2009 analysed 131 senior managment recruitment assignments within local government. What, if anything, has changed since then? How can local government address bias in the workforce to drive high performance?

Catherine Fox’s keynote presentation FROM MYTH TO QUOTAS will explore the assumptions which continue to fuel gender discrimination.

Don’t forget to sign up for Congressplus.

DIVERSITY PRESENTATION AND WORKSHOP by Peter Wilson, AHRI

WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT NETWORKING BREAKFAST Wednesday 23 May

With regional futures one of our ‘Reframing local government futures’ streams, we are looking forward to welcoming Stephanie Foster to the LGMA National Congress both as a keynote speaker on this topic and to attend related sessions on Tuesday 22 May.

Currently Deputy Secretary, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport, Stephanie has responsibility for the development and implementation of the Government’s regional and local government policy agenda as well as for regional development initiatives in the north-west of Australia.

“I am currently responsible for the Commonwealth’s support to local governments across Australia and I’m looking forward to outlining what the Government’s approach to regional development means for local governments across Australia,” says Stephanie. “I’m also looking forward to generating discussion on how Commonwealth, state and local governments can work together with regional development organisations to further economic and social outcomes across Australia’s diverse regions.”

“The current Australian Government has a real passion for a regional approach to development, so we’re looking to Stephanie to shine a light on what that means for our sector. It seems likely that local governments will need to reorganise themselves if they are to continue to benefit from what the Federal Government has to offer in terms of policy, programs and funding,” said John Ravlic, Chief Executive, LGMA National. “Ministers are already saying, ‘we want councils to get their acts together with the rest of their region’, that is, to identify and prioritise needs and activities on a regional basis. This will then allow the Federal Government to see how individual councils fit into the picture, and how it can support individual councils by providing regional support.”

Stephanie took up her present position in September 2011, following two years as a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.

A career public servant, Stephanie has worked with the Australian Public Service since joining the Department of Defence in 1987 as a graduate trainee. She spent 16 years in the Intelligence community in a range of analytic and management positions and a further six years in Defence’s International Policy Division.

Her achievements were formally recognised in June 2008, when she was awarded a Public Service Medal for ‘outstanding public service in the provision of high level policy advice to government in relation to the deployment of Australian military personnel on overseas operations’. She was also commended as an outstanding role model and mentor for women, and for leadership abilities that enhanced the output and morale of her area.

Stephanie and her husband Tim live outside Canberra on a two-and-a-half-acre property in the village of Gundaroo. The two share a love of food, wine and classical music, especially opera.

The 2012 Perth Congress offers delegates the chance to enhance their congress experiences by participating in a number of afternoon workshops and masterclasses.  Workshops and masterclasses on issues relevant to local government will be held on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.  An international masterclass on climate change will also be held on Thursday. These sessions provide practical ideas and lessons on issues relevant to the local government sector.

Visit our workshops and masterclasses page under CongressPlus for more information.

Despite the positive buzz around 2010’s Year of Women in Local Government, the representation of women in executive management ranks in local government remains poor, as it does in other sectors. While most councils would claim to appoint on merit – and defend to the death their right to do so – the evidence is that there are other forces at work. How else do you explain organisations with staffs that are at least 50 per cent female, with executive groups that are almost entirely male?

For those not convinced by the equity argument (and old habits can die hard) there are other powerful reasons for increasing gender diversity in the council workplace. One is the business case (who is going to fill the gaps left by retiring baby-boomer managers?), another the Australian Government’s view on top jobs for the girls, which is where quotas enter the picture. These are among the issues Catherine Fox will explore in her keynote address, ‘From myths to quotas’.

Considered one of Australia’s leading authorities on gender diversity, Catherine is deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review’s Boss magazine and writes the weekly column ‘Corporate Woman’ for the same newspaper. She joined the AFR in 1989 and, besides her present roles, has held a variety of positions there, including marketing and Smart Money editor, and court reporter. She previously worked in financial services marketing and consulting in Sydney and London, and for a range of large and small organisations, including two of Australia’s largest banks, a university and an advertising agency.

Along with her media role, Catherine is also an author: her second book, The F Word: How we learnt to swear by feminism (NewSouth), with Jane Caro, was published in 2008. The book she co-authored with Helen Trinca, Better than Sex: How a whole generation got hooked on work (Random House), was shortlisted for the 2005 Blake Dawson Waldron Business Book of the Year award. Her latest book, Seven Myths about Women and Work, will be published later this year, and is based on a range of her ‘Corporate Woman’ columns.

Catherine’s journalism has won several awards and she is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences around the country. She has a BA Communications (UTS) and MA Hons (UNSW) and lives in Sydney with her husband and three daughters

Speaking to LGMA about her work, Catherine says:

“My aim is to analyse the widespread and unhelpful assumptions and myths that continue to fuel gender discrimination in all kinds of workplaces and examine how local government is faring.

“I hope that by presenting evidence rather than hearsay on the issue, some of the audience may have a penny-dropping moment and find some clues on how to change attitudes and behaviour where they work.”

LGMA National Chief Executive, John Ravlic admitted that while no-one is arguing that we should set aside merit-based appointments or promotions, the reality is that when women do apply for executive roles, they’re more likely to get the job than the male applicants.

“The problem is, not enough women are applying,” Mr Ravlic said of the continuing low number of women in local government senior ranks. “We need to encourage existing CEOs and executives to find out why this is so, and to remove the obstacles that are impeding gender diversity in the workplace.

“If they don’t bite the bullet NOW – and start looking at strategies such as applying quotas – when will the time be right? When there are zero women in executive roles? When the baby boomers have all gone home, leaving too many gaps for the males to fill?

“We’re looking to Catherine to explode some of the myths and excuses people have been hiding behind, so that our many excellent women can get a ‘fair go’, at least in the local government workplace.”

Catherine will present her keynote address on Monday, 21 May @ 4.00pm.

In November 2009 the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, launched the Pilbara Cities Vision. The Vision aimed to transform both Karratha and Port Hedland into cities with populations of 50,000 people, build the population of Newman to 15,000 people and develop a network of sustainable, attractive towns throughout
the region, towns where people are proud to live and want to call home.

While there was initially some scepticism regarding the Pilbara Cities announcement, when more than a billion dollars of Royalties for Regions funding was committed to implementing the project in the 2010/11 State Government Budget, people started to believe that maybe this was something different and the Pilbara was going to be in for some big changes.

The above is an extract from a recent article by Chris Adams, CEO of Pilbara Cities Office that appeared in the latest edition of LGM. 

Continue reading Chris’s Pilbara adventure.

Most local government practitioners appreciate the concept of workplace diversity; however, knowing how to achieve it is another matter entirely. So we’re fortunate to have Peter Wilson with us on Congress Tuesday, when he will facilitate an interactive Diversity Workshop. The workshop will provide participants with tools both to overcome barriers to workplace diversity – particularly in relation to gender – and to leverage gender equality to enhance organisational performance.

The National President of the Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI), Peter is widely regarded as a leading spokesperson for gender equality in top jobs and on boards in the corporate sector – a role he will replicate for the local government sector at the LGMA Congress. He has presented on gender diversity at numerous events and seminars; managed the Business Council of Australia’s C-Suite mentoring program and initiated AHRI’s Gender in the Workplace research project, which led to the development of two gender-based training programs for executive managers that focus on conscious and unconscious bias in the workplace.

In addition to his AHRI role – which includes being Chairman of HRIZON 2012, the 14th World Human Resource Congress, to be held in Melbourne in September – he is chairman of Yarra Valley Water Limited and a non-executive director on the boards of the World Federation of People Management Associations (based in Switzerland), the Vincent Fairfax Foundation for Ethical Leadership and Bayley House, a non-profit organisation that provides services to adults with an intellectual disability. He is also a member of the advisory council for the Harvard Business Review and was admitted to the ranks of the Society of Human Resources Management’s 100 Global HR Though Leaders in 2010, following his authorship of the AHRI White Paper people@work/2020.

Prior to 2005, Peter held group executive roles at ANZ, Amcor Limited and as CEO of Energy 21. He has held non-executive director appointments on the boards of Dalgety Farmers, Kimberly Clark, Melbourne Tigers Basketball Club, the World Basketball Championships and as chairman of the Commonwealth Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. In 2004, Peter was awarded a Centenary Medal, while in 2005 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia, “For service to business and industry, particularly through the development of workplace reforms in the areas of safety, rehabilitation and compensation, and to the community.”

Of his involvement in the Congress, Peter says the following:

“The LGMA is well-known as Australia’s pre-eminent association for managers and executives in the local government sector, and I am very pleased to be participating in its 2012 National Congress.

“Whilst Australia contains five of the world’s 10 most liveable cities, our workplaces still have great distances to travel to achieve equivalent rankings amongst the world’s most productive and fairest environments. Diversity in our workforces is one of the major current challenges facing our business and political leaders, and it is keeping our employment performance well below its potential level, with gender equity being a top priority.

“My session will cover the attributes of gender equity in Australia, the causes for our underperformance, where opportunities lie, and some positive tactics for delegates to take back to try in their own working environments.”

LGMA National Chief Executive, John says we are looking to Peter to challenge and encourage local government practitioners to look at their workforces and ensure they better reflect the communities they represent and to whom they provide services.

“His main emphasis will be on gender equity, but it will also be worthwhile considering how hi approaches can be applied to other areas, such as Indigenous employment, which is another focus of LGMA’s workforce development activities.”

Peter lives in Melbourne and has two adult children who, he says, “are somewhere nearby most of the time.”

The special discounted early-bird rate has been extended through until 30 April. Register now to take advantage of this offer.

Don’t forget – you can register for individual days, keynote presentations, workshops and CongressPlus events.

In the latest edition of the LGM (Local Government Manager) magazine, our future national President and Townsville CEO, Ray Burton ponders the theme of the 2012 LGMA National Congress. 

In his article, Ray says that he is intrigued about recent theories around the need for stewardship rather than leadership to drive change through our organisations. He has taken great pride in being CEO of large councils and leading the change process of those councils during traumatic and testing periods.   He is highly educated and done much research around the fundamentals of leadership, but the concept of stewardship has continues to challenge him.

Read Ray’s article to find out what he thinks about the theme of the 2012 LGMA Congress.

Striking the balance between stewardship and leadership is one of the great challenges of local government – discerning what needs to be preserved in order to maintain the essence of a community regardless of what’s happening in the political space, but also being willing and able to step on the gas when real leadership is required. It’s a challenge that has been met with distinction by our keynote speaker on this topic, Jude Munro, chairperson of Queensland Urban Utilities and director of consultancy Jude Munro & Associates.

Jude is probably best-known in local government circles for her decade as CEO of Brisbane City Council – at the end of which she was presented with the keys to the city by then Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, who described her as “one of Australia’s most outstanding public servants.” However, she began her local government career in her hometown of Melbourne, where she was CEO for the former City of St Kilda from 1991–94.

Both then and in her next role, as Interim CEO for the City of Moreland, Jude successfully steered her organisation through various stages of Victoria’s hotly debated council amalgamation process. In 1997 she was appointed CEO of the City of Adelaide, then in 2000, CEO of the City of Brisbane, becoming the first person – let alone woman – to have headed councils in two of Australia’s capital cities.

 In 2010, after 10 years at the helm at Brisbane City Council, Jude decided it was time to “pull up stumps”, she told the local City News. That same year she was awarded the Order of Australia, “For distinguished service to local government … and to the community through contributions to business, professional development and philanthropic organisations”; she also took home the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) Queensland’s highest accolade, its Patron’s Award for Excellence in the Public Sector.

 Jude has sat, and continues to sit on myriad boards (you can see a full list at www.urbanutilities.com.au). She also holds a number of professional management fellowships, is a member of the Council of Australian Government (COAG) Reform Council’s Expert Panel on Cities, and in April was appointed to New South Wale’s Government Review Panel. These latter appointments both reflect her noted capacity to work with politicians from all parties to achieve positive outcomes for the community. Her consultancy focuses on providing leadership and solutions for complex challenges faced by organisations whether in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors, a task greatly facilitated by Jude’s capacity for leadership, innovation and motivation and her national and international networks.

Out of hours, Jude is an avid bushwalker and keen cyclist.