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Women in Local Government receive Federal COVID support

By intouch * posted 09-07-2020 10:16

  

The peak body for local government officers will receive a share of $1.8 million in Commonwealth Government funding to support women’s economic security in the local government workforce during the COVID-19 recovery.

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“Local Government Professionals Australia is proud to be partnering with the Office for Women on this crucial piece of work,” says CEO of the local government peak body, Clare Sullivan.

“We already know that COVID-19 has severely impacted councils and their staff, as well as the services they offer everyday Australians. Most acutely though, we’re finding that women in the workforce are disproportionately impacted by crises like the pandemic.”

A new national program, funded by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, will support women working in local government who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 through online peer support, resource sharing, and research into the roles of female employees through COVID-19 and beyond.

The local government workforce of approximately 200,000 has been affected by COVID-19 as councils have suffered financially. Rate relief, facility closures, and reduced revenue streams have impacted council finances with the potential to fuel thousands of job losses. Of these, women disproportionately represent the part-time and casual positions most likely to face these job losses or reduced hours.

“As the peak body for local government officers, we are committed to helping women in our workforce by mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on female local government employees. This partnership and grant will help us develop resources and opportunities to dampen these impacts and protect the economic security of these workers,” says Ms Sullivan.

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