RACHEL PEMBERTON and INGRID WALTHAM are Fremantle councillors. As the only women on the council, they say the gender imbalance (which also includes senior management) needs to be addressed and they’re ready to step up and help other women get into power.

International Women’s Day is a time when both of us take time to reflect on the lack of gender balance in the City of Fremantle.

We are the only two women elected to represent our community on Fremantle council.

There is just one woman in a senior management position.

When we sought a new CEO for Fremantle, there were five women amongst 100 applicants.

Comprising more than half the world’s population, women continue to be under-represented as voters, political leaders and elected officials. Democracy cannot truly deliver for all its citizens if half of the population remains under-represented in the political arena – and for a progressive city like Fremantle, having just two women out of 13 representing the community is damning.

Fremantle has had many strong female councillors in the past. In the early nineties, there was actually more women on council than men. We have only ever had one female mayor, Jenny Archibald. Since then, the number of women on Fremantle council has dramatically declined — it’s time to address the imbalance.

We know there are plenty of capable, committed women who could hold these positions and be passionate and effective leaders. Both the WALGA CEO and state president are women. So why aren’t more women putting themselves forward in our own community?

Perhaps it’s because as women, as a rule, we don’t feel the need to seek status, power or wealth. Maybe we don’t welcome the public profile or scrutiny that comes with elected office and high profile positions — politics in particular can be a nasty game at times!

When contemplating career advancement, we women are also inclined to downplay our skills and experience and think ‘I’m not ready’ or ‘I’m not good enough’. But men don’t generally feel this — they are historically more likely to jump at an opportunity, whether they have the experience or not.

In addition, women more than men generally take care of family commitments and home responsibilities. Some women have cultural reasons for not being in the spotlight…there are probably as many reasons for why women self-select themselves out of senior positions as there are women.

As women councillors, both of us have benefited from other wise women who have pointed out that we had something useful to contribute, and that by excluding ourselves from being able to contribute on issues that matter to us — to listen, to debate, to help make decisions and facilitate change — that we weren’t just letting ourselves down, we were letting others down.

Neither of us regrets stepping up to the challenge we took on in 2011; and we are both grateful to be starting out on our second term. It’s rewarding, it’s empowering, it’s humbling. So on this International Women’s Day, we’d like to encourage other women in our community to consider joining the decision-making table.

The next council election is 18 months away. In order to get more capable, committed women on council, we’d like to offer any support we can in the meantime to women who are considering rising to the challenge. We also extend this opportunity to another sorely under-represented group in our community — Aboriginal people.

So if you’re interested in rising to your potential and contributing further to your community — our doors are open!