A group of female employees outside the Shire of Mundaring Administration Centre.
Camera IconA group of female employees outside the Shire of Mundaring Administration Centre. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

International Women’s Day: Shire of Mundaring a beacon for gender inclusivity in local govt

Staff WriterHills Avon Valley Gazette

SHIRE of Mundaring celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) yesterday by continuing to encourage a workplace culture that will think, act and be more gender inclusive.

Of the 317 employees at the Shire, 188 are female with a third of the Shire’s leadership positions held by women.

The tally closely aligns with this year’s IWD theme to #PressforProgress and a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

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The global event recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Director strategic and community services Megan Griffiths said the female workplace participation rate at the Shire was above the public sector average.

“We support and encourage the professional development of all employees by offering them a wide range of contemporary training opportunities,” she said.

“Also, we are a family-friendly workplace which we believe is imperative to attracting and retaining good staff, regardless of their gender.”

Shire Deputy President Lynn Fisher said the Shire has many women residents making valuable contributions to the local community.

“The Shire’s library at the Boya Community Centre is named in honour of the late esteemed Greenmount resident Katharine Susannah Prichard,” she said.

“She was the dominant literary figure in Western Australia during the 1920s and 1930s and her achievements stretched into the 1960s.

“She was also a significant political figure campaigning for social justice.”

IWD gained recognition in the early 1900s, which was a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

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