The case for increasing gender diversity in local government leadership has been well documented, yet progress remains slow. It’s an issue we keep discussing because change still isn’t happening in a timely way. If we have identified the challenges, why are we failing to meaningfully tackle them? Are we big on talk but slow on action? How can we get a sense of what genuinely works and set goals for measurable change?

At the recent Local Government Association (LGA) conference, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the LGA jointly convened a panel that was not intended to chart the barriers we know exist but to instead discuss how the sector can act to effect real change in the make-up of local government leadership. It is a moment for deeds, not words.