Local Government Gender Initiative 

Women in Local Councils – Making a Difference

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a partner in the Women in Local Councils initiative. The initiative aims to encourage the integration of men and women into non-traditional roles and ensure equality of opportunity in terms of access to all levels of employment, leadership, training and in relation to promotional opportunities. The initiative specifically wishes to address the under-representation of women at senior officer levels and as elected representatives.

The partner bodies in the development and implementation of this initiative include

• The Local Government Staff Commission
• The Equality Commission for NI
• Queens University Belfast
• SOLACE
• NI Local Government Association
• Business in the Community
• NIC-ICTU
• National Association of Councillors

The Initiative features a series of events designed to attract women into councils as employers of choice, to encourage those already employed to apply for higher graded positions and to raise the profile of women in local politics.

 

CHAMPIONS

A key feature of the Initiative is the appointment of Champions by the 26 district councils, by the five main political parties, the National Association of Councillors and the NI Local Government Association.

The Champions are committed to maximising the profile of the initiative and participation in the programme of events within their respective areas. They also assist in identifying and sharing examples of best practice and act as the main point of contact with the Women’s Development Steering Group.

GENDER ACTION PLAN

At an early stage in the Women in Local Councils initiative, all 26 district councils adopted the Declaration of Principles which committed elected members and officers to work towards the goal of gender equality.

As a further stage in the initiative, the Steering Group developed a Gender Action Plan, based on the Equality Commission’s Gender Employment Equality Plan model, to assist councils addressing the key issues in the Declaration.

The aims of the Action Plan are:

• to ensure that policies and practices meet legal requirements
• to promote best practice in gender equality
• to address gender under-representation and job segregation.

To achieve these aims, the Action Plan includes sections for elected members and for officers respectively. A separate action plan for political parties has also been developed.

Below are the document links for the:

Template Gender Action Plan
Gender Review

Please click here to visit the website for further information and updates.