Local body elections: Women still face stereotype they don't have 'backbone' for leadership

Wednesday, 4 September 2019

Female mayoral candidates still face the stereotype that women are not good leaders, according to the head of one of New Zealand's few women-dominated councils.

Whangārei District Council is one of just two councils in the country where a woman is both mayor and deputy mayor, with Hastings District Council being the other.

It is also one of just seven councils where there is either an even gender split or more women than men – 91 per cent of councils are made up mostly of men.

Whangārei mayor Sheryl Mai said it was surprising councils were so male-dominated in 2019.

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In Whangārei, Joyce Ryan led the way, first donning the mayoral robes in 1983. At the time, she was described as 'the best man for the job'.

Thirty years later, Mai was elected mayor and she appointed Sharon Morgan as deputy, the first two-woman combination.

'It shouldn't make a difference but we did stand out … frankly it shouldn't because we were just two people doing our roles who happened to be women,' Mai said.

'There will be people in society who look at women as not being appropriate leaders. I got quite a lot of that: 'Have you got the backbone?' or 'Have you got the balls?'

'That's what people say: 'Have you got the strength to be a leader like a man would?''

Mai said such stereotypes were untrue and doubters just needed to look at leaders like former Prime Minister Helen Clark for an example of a strong woman leader.

'We are good at the job,' she said. 'There's no real expectation that we'll just stay at home and bring up the kids because we have careers, we can be leaders and we are leaders.'

But Mai admitted it hadn't been smooth sailing for her in the council.

When she first became a councillor in 2005 it was under another woman, Pamela Peters. But in 2008, she was a councillor under Stan Semenoff, which she found 'quite challenging'.

'That was why I didn't stand again – I thought my voice wasn't able to be loudly heard.'

To help encourage more women – and young men with children – into council, Whangārei District Council recently accepted a childcare allowance, which would subsidise childcare while on council duties.

To get a more even spread of women and young people in council, Mai said she would like to see more education about local governance and what councillors and mayors actually did.

'It's not really a career path that most people think of, although we try and inspire kids to do that.'

In this year's elections, Whangārei has two female and one male candidate for mayor.

But Mai said men still outnumbered women for councillor candidates, so the make-up of the council could change.

Sharon Morgan said Mai was 'very brave' to appoint her as deputy mayor in 2013, especially given her experience was limited to being a councillor who had not chaired any committees.

'I'm sure the expectation would have been that it may have gone to a male.'

But Morgan said she never considered the pair as role models for women in council: 'I was too busy trying to get my head around the role.'

After six successful years the pair will be splitting up, with Morgan deciding not to stand in this year's elections.

She plans to spend her time 'indulging' in creative pursuits, plus doing some travel, but said she was proud of all that has been achieved.

Alex Wright, the other female candidate for mayor, said while she had had her challenges, being a woman had not made her career path harder.

'I am who I am – my parents taught me to paddle my own canoe,' she said.

'I have a husband and four sons [and three daughters] which I have raised to be socially, well-adjusted adults.'