The Texas Chapter of Women Leading Government is pleased to announce the creation of the Texas Women’s Leadership Institute.  The Institute is designed to empower and prepare more women for the position of city manager in the future. 

 

While Texas has had success in having women manage the largest cities in Texas, moving the needle in a more generalized manner has been slow.  In 2019, 21% of the Texas City Management Association (TCMA) membership is female and of the current 241 city managers working in home rule cities in Texas, 30 are female (12%).  That is lower than the statistic of 13% female local government managers used by ICMA in their task force reports on women in the profession in 2014 and in 1975.  

 

With recent studies and surveys regarding young professionals only wanting to become assistant city managers, it is important to chart paths to the top role for women in local government. The Texas Chapter of Women Leading Government (WLG) created the Texas Women’s Leadership Institute of 20 women who desire to become city managers.  The Institute is five sessions over the course of 10 months that covers essential topics to be an effective city manager as well as exploring successful leadership techniques.  The sessions include tours of city facilities and  bring in Texas experts in the fields of finance, planning, communications, economic development, public works, and leadership. This Institute offers a laser focus approach to increasing women in the city management pipeline and is sponsored by the Texas City Management Association.