Council of women
Illawarra Women’s Health Centre is governed by a community-based governing body called the Council of Women which consists of 7 women from diverse cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds.
The Role of Council of Women Members, in general, is to:
- Be committed to women’s health within a feminist framework
- Be willing and able to work as part of a team
- Make a commitment to attend committee meetings and contribute to the activities organised by the Council of Women by, eg, sub-committees or working parties
- Be willing to challenge discrimination against women
- Be willing to contribute ideas and time for planning and evaluation of the Centre
- Be committed to the vision, objects, policies and plans of the Centre
- Be willing to act as mentor for newer, younger or less experienced members of the Council of Women.
The Council of Women has the following responsibilities:
- Legal
- Policy and Planning/Strategic direction
- Financial
- Staffing
Other responsibilities include:
- Making sure that the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre has a solid membership and is a strong and viable organisation.
- Ensuring the accessibility and appropriateness of services to women using the health centre
- Representing the organisation.
Executive Members of the Council of Women are the Chairwoman, the Treasurer and the Secretary. Other members are general members. The Manager is an ex-officio member, and from time to time there are Advisory members.
The Manager of the Centre’s role on the governing body is ex-officio. She is not a voting member but she is the Public Officer of the Association, keeping custody of the Common Seal, maintaining a register of members and making contact with the Department of Fair Trading as required.
The Manager will:
- Provide information to the Council of Women (in the form of reports, correspondence, discussion papers)
- Advise and make recommendations to the Council
- Research and investigate issues of interest or concern to the Council
- Problem-solve issues of interest re governance matters.