Our Why

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. 

As the Texas Women's Leadership Institute, we pride ourselves on providing our Executives with premier information on leadership.  We expose our Executives to the leading female city managers from around Texas and tour facilities while carrying on in-depth discussions about leadership, innovation and effective service delivery.

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Topics covered in the TWLI Seminars include leadership preferences, economic development, negotiation, finance, public works, capital improvements, municipal debt, interviewing, Council relations and public relations.  ​TWLI Executives participate in book readings, tours, trainings, a summer shadow opportunity and group projects.  Each class works together to develop their own network and learn best practices in growing their careers.