Devonport City Council is the first Council within Tasmania to receive the 50:50 Vision Councils for Gender Equity - Silver Award.

The 50:50 Vision awards accreditation program was established to encourage Councils across Australia to address gender equity issues both within the organisation and among elected representatives. There are three levels within the award, bronze, silver and gold, and currently only seven Silver Award holders across Australia. The accreditation of Council as a 50:50 Vision employer will make it easier to attract, recruit and retain workers based on their abilities, skills and knowledge in a consistently fair workplace which offers and promotes work opportunities for all.

"We first formed a committee in order to address gender equity issues within the Devonport City Council and were awarded the Bronze award in November 2010" spokesperson Alderman Rockliff stated. "We are very pleased to achieve Silver Award status and will continue to encourage employees and elected representatives to take on tasks or jobs outside of traditional roles, including raising the profile of women in local government and opportunities to work in local government in general".

The program was driven internally at Council by a dedicated Gender Equity Committee with the assistance of university intern, Sarah Button. The Committee was formed to act as the principle group working towards gender equity within the organisation. To achieve the Silver Award, Councils must have already completed the Bronze level and achieve certification in:

• Commitment and leadership;
• Nomination and recruitment;
• Remuneration, recognition and training;
• Work and family balance;
• Outline at least three projects the organisation will undertake or have undertaken to address gender equity issues;
• Complete an online staff survey.

According to the Women in Local Government Strategy 2009-2012, women in Australia are under-represented in local government at senior levels. The current situation in Australia is that around one quarter of Councillors, one fifth of Mayors, one tenth of senior managers and one twelfth of CEOs in local government are women. The 50:50Vision - Councils for Gender Equity Program is designed specifically to assist Councils to identify and address gender equity issues both within their organisations and among their elected representatives and is designed to be accessed by all Councils, regardless of their size, location and progress on gender equity. Its primary goal is to increase participation of women in local government at both senior management and elected representative levels.

"Council is proud to be recognised for its commitment to gender equity, to be regarded as a 'Gender Equity Employer of Choice', and that we have sound practices in place ensuring that all people regardless of their gender are treated equally and special consideration is not given to an employee or elected member simply because of their gender," said Alderman Rockliff.

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