Image: Greens Councillor Raphaela Pandolfini. Dan Himbrechts, AAP Image
by HOPE PRATT
A survey conducted by the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) on the bullying and harassment of women councillors in local government has revealed ongoing issues of inequity.
The results, released at ALGWA’s March conference, found that overwhelmingly women councillors experienced mental and physical health impacts due to harassment and bullying they faced in the workplace.
However, a motion brought to Randwick City Council to acknowledge the results and commit to providing a safe working environment was shut down.
For Greens Councillor Raphaela Pandolfini, who brought forward the motion, the survey was a chance to start a conversation.
“I do think that things go unchecked. I’ve specifically spoken to lots of younger women councillors from different states who won’t be running again, because of the experience that they’ve had,” she told City Hub.
“It’s really important to point out that women aren’t exactly the biggest indicator of diversity in 2024. And so that kind of sparks alarm bells for me in terms of local government…what does that mean for a broader experience of people?”
She went on to note that because local governments rarely participate in public surveys like the ALGWA one, they are often excluded from the gender parity conversation and remain the least equitable tier of government.
Gender parity in local government
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) President Darriea Turley announced in 2021 that women now make up 39.5 per cent of all councillors in NSW – which was an 8.5 per cent jump on the proportion of women elected in 2016/17.
“Councils are the closest level of government to their communities, so to ensure everyone has a voice it is important that they reflect the communities they represent,” she said.
“The proportion of women on council was stuck between 27 and 31% for nearly a decade, so to make such great progress in a single election is really worth celebrating.”
Across 166 years, Randwick has only had 4 women in the Mayoral position for single year terms, the motion noted.
“The treatment of women is pervasive and affects all issues that women face from employment, wage parity, homelessness, lack of superannuation through to the extremely serious and chronically high rates of domestic violence in this country,” wrote Cr Pandolfini.
“It is the treatment that you walk past that allows inequality to continue in our society, And it is important as elected members of the community that we set the example especially in this room when our commentary and treatment of women is recorded and available for all members of the community to hear.”
In a statement released on their website, ALGWA said, “Anecdotally, we know that many women are told that the way they are treated is simply part of the cut and thrust of politics, and that they simply need to ‘suck it up’.”
The ALGWA survey
Of the 139 participants in the survey, 61 per cent experienced bullying and 49 per cent experienced harassment, with 44 per cent not reporting such incidences.
Harassment and bullying in this case are defined as “repeated unreasonable behaviours by an individual towards a worker that creates a risk to health and safety.”
This could include behaviour like yelling, cursing, isolating employees, or targeting employees repeatedly with vitriol.
42 per cent of participants said they wouldn’t recommend entering a career in local government as a result of the harassment they faced.
Cr Pandolfini attended the conference and told City Hub that she wasn’t surprised by the results.
But her motion was ultimately shut down by other councillors.
Council response
The council resolved to congratulate the newly elected President of ALGWA, Councillor Penny Pedersen, and thank the organisation for their work, but without acknowledgement of the survey.
Liberal Councillor Christie Hamilton, who put forth the amendment, said, “A simple thank you is enough.”
Writing to City Hub, Cr Hamilton questioned, “Was Rafaela insinuating that Randwick Council doesn’t have a safe work environment for women councillors?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but what I do know is that the motion had no discernible base or action plan for council staff to undertake,” she continued.
“Hence my amendment to try and provide some action and acknowledge the fantastic work of ALGWA and the newly elected President.”
Labour Councillor Danny Said, felt the motion was a too “glass half-empty view of council.”
He went on to reiterate that Randwick Council was a “trailblazer” in terms of gender representation.
Cr Pandolfini reiterated to City Hub, “It’s not an attack on Randwick Council. I am part of Randwick Council. It was purely just to acknowledge [the survey results].”
“Even though more women have been elected, that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden, the conditions in which we work are better.”
Looking ahead, ALGWA will be partnering with Western Sydney University, University of Sydney, and Australian National University to deliver a more comprehensive study on the experiences of women in local government.
The project, titled ‘Experiences of Women in Local Government’, is set to begin conducting research in 2024.
Research will focus on developing “effective strategies of collective action to make effective structural change,” according to a ALGWA statement.
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