Becoming a councillor is an amazing adventure in representing the community and being in a position to make a difference, Noosa Councillor Ingrid Jackson told the inaugural Back Yourself conference in Noosa last week.
The conference attracted some hundreds of women who listened to guest speakers provide guidance on how to be successful in what are frequently highly competitive situations.
“Ideally, local government should reflect the diversity in the community, to be representative of local community needs and aspirations,” said Cr Jackson, who is Noosa’s only female councillor.
She cited official statistics which show that while women make up just over 50 per cent of Queensland’s population, the representation of women on local councils is around 30 per cent.
Cr Jackson said that a recent report on women in local government in Queensland said the reasons why women are under-represented in local government pertain mostly to community attitudes, finance, competing responsibilities and personal characteristics such as a lack of self-confidence.
She said the report also identified “the ‘boys’ club’ of local government” and the level of public scrutiny as factors that turn women away.
“When people suggested I run for council, I wasn’t sure, so I made a list of pros and cons,” Cr Jackson said.
“After making the list, I realised that the pros were real skills that I could bring and the cons were mostly fears I had invented, like being stressed dealing with opposition, not used to debating and being verbally persuasive, and a feeling of not being good enough.
“I decided to face my fears and back myself. I ran for election and won.”
