An exciting new course called 'Empowering Women in Local Government' will be formally launched later this month, with experts hoping it will help councils address gender imbalances.

The program will support women who are thinking about nominating as candidates in Local Government elections, existing female Councillors, and women working in the NSW Local Government sector.

It was developed by the UTS Centre for Local Government (UTS:CLG) and the Australian Local Government Women’s Association NSW (ALGWA NSW).

ALGWA NSW president Vicki Scott says women are vastly under-represented in Local Government, both at the elected and senior management levels.

“ALGWA NSW wants to work to change this,” Ms Scott said.

“We encourage any woman considering standing for Council elections in 2016 to participate in this unique learning opportunity.”

The program consists of a six-day course to work through the following three modules, delivered in a mix of online coursework and face-to-face workshops:

understanding NSW Local Government

developing professional and personal leadership skills

campaign logistics, including planning a campaign, legal compliance and post-election evaluation.

The organisers say the program will also help women build a strong peer-to-peer network of women.

“This type of program has never been offered before and UTS:CLG commends ALGWA NSW for its visionary leadership in championing gender equity in Local Government,” Director of UTS:CLG, Roberta Ryan said.

Applications for the maximum 20-person course open next week.

More details are available here.