Mon 07 Nov 2022
Lessons for women in public life on how to progress to leadership roles while enjoying work-life balance
The proportion of women in public life has been on the up for the past couple of years, but challenges hindering their progression to leadership positions remain. For budding female leaders in local authorities and public bodies, acquiring the tools to communicate effectively, raise their visibility and influence positive change in society is more important than ever.
Numbers don't lie. The Local Government Association has reported that as of 2022, 41% of local authority councillors in England are women. In Scotland, women make up 35%of local councils, up from 29% in 2017. Wales is also seeing a greater representation of women in local government with 36%, up from 28% in 2018, which was an increase from 26% in 2012. In Northern Ireland, following the most recent local elections in 2019, women make up 26% of local councillors.
A closer look at local governments uncovers another significant milestone for women in public life. Tracy Brabin became the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. Still, less than one in five elected mayors are women.
Women are putting themselves forward in public life roles, but why the proportion of female leaders is still low? Taking stock, the Women in Local Government conference on 8 December will gather inspirational female leaders and personal coaches to discuss their challenges and barriers to career progression. The speakers will provide learning tools and strategies to break glass ceilings while creating a lasting network of women in local government who are effecting change in their communities.
Your foot on the accelerator
Looking back on Margaret Hodge MP's keynote speech at last year's Women in Local Government conference puts the challenges holding women back from leadership roles in perspective.
Hodge had chaired a commission to look at women's representation in local government and revealed that research found that very few councils had proper arrangements for maternity rights. "Only 8% of councils have a maternity policy for their cabinet members, and only 7% have it for all members," she said before asking: "where do we go from here?"
For Hodge—who served as Leader of Islington London Borough Council from 1982 to 1992 before winning a seat for Barking in Parliament in 1994—having arrangements that would allow proper life-work balance for women in public life is only one piece of the puzzle. "I think women have to see [their careers] as a marathon and not a sprint," she said.
"You don't have to do it all by the time you're 30," she pointed out, noting she is in her 70s and has managed to carry on representing her community for a long time.
"I think the generation that comes after me is going to have an even longer work period," she said, noting there will always be tensions in managing life-work balance. These tensions, she said, seem to be worse now than they were when she started her career in local government in the 1970s.
"Women today are trying to do three things: care for their children or other relatives, work, and take part in politics," she said before revealing the key to her success: "One thing I've learned through my life is that you can never take your foot off the accelerator."
Hodge recalled how she asked for maternity leave when she was a counsellor in 1978 when nobody had ever done that. And she spoke about the challenges she faced when she returned to work.
"I thought it was really important to change the timing of the meetings in the evening. We used to start meetings at seven, but if we could start them at 7:30, that would allow those people with the children to settle them before they came out for an evening meeting. It took us three years to get that reform agreed," she explained.
Hodge noted that as women counsellors, women can do radical things to improve their lives. "We were incredibly criticised by it, but it was worth it," she said, which is why she believed women mustn't take their foot off the accelerator.
Hodge noted there is still massive discrimination in all sectors against women around their maternity rights, maternity leave and promotion but encouraged women in local government to go for the roles if they are serious about gender equity.
"We've got to keep fighting, we have to, or we will never change the world," she concluded.
Women in Local Government takes place in London on 8 December. Visit the conference website for the agenda and secure your place.
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