By Romy Stephens
A handful of women in the Yarra Ranges are seeking to challenge the political status quo, by putting their hand up as candidates for this year’s Yarra Ranges Council election.
This year, there has been a push from both State and Local Governments to help inspire a new generation of women on councils.
This is particularly relevant for Yarra Ranges, which currently hosts only one female councillor, out of nine.
Over the past 17 years, the Yarra Ranges has had double the number of male candidates and councillors compared to females.
Since 2003 the municipality has had 34 male councillors compared to 12 female councillors, and 117 male candidates compared to 52 female candidates.
The Yarra Ranges currently sits within the bottom 20 per cent for women’s representation on councils in the state.
Bec Brannigan, a Walling Ward candidate, said running for Council had been in the back of her mind for quite some time.
But it wasn’t until a moment with her daughter last year, that she was determined to take the next step.
“Something that really pushed me was last year my daughter wanted to go as the Prime Minister to careers day at school, when she was 7,” Ms Brannigan said.
“She was raiding my husband’s wardrobe for a suit and tie because she thought that’s what a Prime Minister had to wear.
“It did tell me quite a bit about what she’s seeing in the world, that she’s only seeing men in suits running the country.
“I told her the Prime Minister could be anyone and she could dress as anyone she wanted.”
Chandler Ward candidate Roxanne Horn said a lack of female councillors was likely due to “women choosing not to run and put their hands up.”
“Research shows when women do put their hands up they are elected at the same rate, if not higher than men,” she said.
“It’s just a fact that women are predominantly at home with the kids and feel the pressures of family life.
“Having a diverse Council is good for everyone because essentially they (councillors) are elected as voices for the community and I think they should reflect the community.”
Streeton Ward candidate Amy Muratore echoed this idea. She said due to multiple responsibilities and past treatment of female leaders, women often don’t even attempt to run.
“As women we wear a lot of hats, especially at the moment when we’re talking about a Covid climate with kids at home and jobs, there’s a lot of plates that we spin,” she said.
“I was in my early 20s when Julia Gillard became the Prime Minister. I think there is a cohort of women who have been put off because of the way our first female Prime Minister was treated.”
Single mother and O’Shannassy Ward candidate Karen Duke said in modern society, particularly with the support of Council, it’s becoming more achievable for women to become a councillor.
“Women have more responsibilities in the home life and a lot of them probably feel like I did, that they don’t think they can achieve and manage it with children and work,” she said.
“In some areas it is still the 1950s view of the women staying at home and the men going to work, but in today’s society we need to be more open-minded.”
Across Victoria, women make up over 50 per cent of the population but only 38 per cent of councillors.
That’s one of the main reasons why the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) has created a campaign called Local Women Leading Change.
The campaign launched on 7 March with the aim to have 50 per cent of Victorian councillors women, and it has been endorsed by Yarra Ranges Council.
The council is also supporting the VLGA’s Your Community, Country and Council project, which aims to promote the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in voting and candidacy.
Ultimately, these campaigns are about creating equal representation across the board.
“Having one demographic, it doesn’t give you an open view or balance of the greater community,” Streeton Ward candidate Cathrine Burnett-Wake said.
“Where I live, there’s a lot of young families like me. I thought that was needed, fresh new eyes coming in with a different lens.”
Ms Burnett-Wake said campaigns like those from the VLGA were an important step forward in encouraging diversity in councils.
She said often people might be interested in running, but they don’t exactly know how to go about it.
“It’s about targeting people and encouraging them. Maybe there needs to be some kind of mentorship programs to get people who are interested to have some kind of training,” she said.
When asked how they felt about Yarra Ranges currently having only one female councillor, most local female candidates said it was disappointing and frustrating.
“We’ve got 160,000 people living in the Yarra Ranges. I’m only represented by one woman and so is half of that population, that just blows my mind,” Lyster Ward candidate Johanna Skelton said.
But the idea of equal representation on Council has sparked some controversy online recently.
A post in a Yarra Valley Facebook group called on females running for Council to contact women’s rights advocacy group Voices of Women.
The post was met with comments such as “they should be appointed on merit not gender.”
Ms Skelton said it was often implied that merit meant success in leadership or business roles, but this shouldn’t be the case when it comes to Council.
“When we think of merit we might look at whether they’ve run a million dollar company, but as a Councillor we want someone who is transparent, who uses social media, who has life experience with raising a family,” she said.
“Women doing the shopping in the local area are more aware of the cost of living, they are often the ones taking the kids to school and are more concerned about whether they can fundraise for their school.
“We want someone who reflects all people so that’s why we need a variety of people on Council.”
Despite Covid-19, Local Government elections are going ahead this year through postal vote.
Nominations for candidates must be made by 12pm on 22 September.
To find out more about the Yarra Ranges Council election, visit www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Council/Council-Elections-2020.
