CHANGING CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS IN AUSTRALIA: 1982 – 1993

Abstract

Between 1982 and 1993 the number of women serving on local government councils, the political arena in which women have been most successful, more than doubled. Data from two Australia wide surveys, one in 1982, the other in 1993, indicate that in the period between the two studies there were also some significant changes in the characteristics of women entering local government, with the 1993 respondents better educated and more likely to be in the paid workforce than their earlier counterparts. Some aspects of the commonly held stereotype of female councillors as middle aged, middle class housewives with adult children are challenged by these data, particularly with respect to workforce participation. While this indicates that female councillors are in some ways more heterogeneous than the stereotype suggests, their characteristics remain unrepresentative of those of many women in the community. This paper attempts to provide a picture of women who serve on local government councils, drawing on survey data collected Australia wide in 1982 and 1993. It examines the extent to which the characteristics of female councillors have changed over the period between the two surveys and the extent to which these women conform to the commonly held stereotype of women in local government, and considers the relevance of this to the issue of representation.