Does that matter?
"Yes, because it's unusual," council chief executive Sanchia Jacobs says.
"Although we have it here, it's a moment in time. I think it shows a community and an organisation and council that has an openness and a willingness to put the right people in the roles irrespective of gender or anything else. That's a really beautiful thing about the situation. It may not exist forever, and it certainly doesn't exist in other organisations."
But not all who meet the female chief executive seem enlightened about her combination of gender and age, she says.
Comments of "Oh you're the new CEO, you're so young" are still coming, although less frequently, having sometimes been made half a dozen times a day.
They come almost exclusively from men and wore thin early on, because Ms Jacobs says she knows her age ("older than Jacinda [Ardern]") is not unusual in a chief executive, but her age combined with being female is.
She says she knows full well when a man says to her "Oh you're the new CEO, you're so young", what they actually mean is, "You're so young and female".
Ms Jacobs is the second consecutive female chief executive at the Central Otago District Council (CODC), and follows the previous chief executive, Leanne Mash.
Ms Jacobs is supported by a three-member executive team, two of whom are women, and a chief adviser, who is also a woman. (The other executive council position, that of corporate services executive manager, is vacant at present, and the acting manager is female).
The executive team jointly lead another 199 staff, of whom 29 are managers or team leaders. Fourteen of those managers or team leaders are women. Of the remaining 170 staff, 130 are women.
The figures contrast with those of other councils and sectors in society, where men continue to dominate executive roles, although the percentage of women in executive local government roles nationally is rising and higher than in Australia.
In the next tier down at the council are Louise van der Voort, planning environment and executive manager, and Julie Muir, infrastructure services executive manager. In another recently created executive position is Saskia Righarts, who is council chief adviser.
All four women say their success in their careers - which have incorporated a range of roles in various organisations - has come from taking opportunities when they arose, and backing themselves. All have had strong mentorship, from both women and men. All say the most important thing is to have the right person in the job, whatever their gender, but acknowledge the high proportion of women in executive positions at the Central Otago council.
"It's a sign that we [the CODC] do aim to recruit the right people for the right job, and don't think about gender," Ms van der Voort said.
So is the question of a more balanced gender ratio one which still has relevance when it comes to workplace appointments?
"The fact that we're still talking about it shows it is still an issue. There are areas where there are still old boys' networks. If we're doing things right and employing people in the right jobs, then the outcome is likely to be balanced," Ms van der Voort said.
But two of the four women almost didn't apply for the roles they now have. When they first read the advertised job descriptions they weren't confident they had the right qualifications for the job, only later reconsidering and applying, Ms Jacobs and Dr Righarts said.
They say that illustrates a common adage: A man will see a job description and say "I can do 80% of those things, so I will apply", but a woman will say "I can't do 20% of those things, so I won't apply".
They say backing yourself, and having others backing you, is vital to success when pursuing opportunities.
None have experienced barriers for women in leadership. Rather, they regret the fact that many women don't apply for jobs for which they are qualified (and often don't negotiate confidently for equitable pay rates), while acknowledging there may be external or societal influences which contribute to that.
This is particularly noticeable in the still male-dominated area of infrastructure, Ms Muir says.
She wishes more women would pursue careers in sectors such as construction, engineering and IT, noting she grew up in the "girls can do anything" era in the 1980s, but that slogan has been "lost" somewhere "along the way".
Dr Righarts says what she has found "most inspiring" throughout her career are stories of how women got to where they are. Now, much of her satisfaction comes from observing the success of other female staff.
The women all acknowledge the "many great men in our lives doing great things": fathers, husbands, workmates, bosses.
But Ms Jacobs notes many of the professional women she sees are "exhausted" by "doing all the mental admin" in their lives on top of their careers. They are the one in their family who buys the birthday presents, makes the dental appointments, makes sure their children are ready for the school costume day/book day/sports day/bring-a-plate day.
She believes "we've been sold a raw deal defining success", which remains largely defined by job title. There is not enough "about health and wellbeing and happiness and family and community". The culture of family and work needs to change "so that everybody is able to do what's within them", she says.
During the photo shoot for this story, jokes about superwoman abounded.
On a serious note, all four women were cautious about such a phrase, and had mixed views on and definitions of feminism.
Ms Jacobs said "for me it really depends how it's defined ... but I'd like to think in 2019 we are all feminists, right?"
And does she ever feel like Superwoman?
"Sometimes I do, even on the small things. Sometimes there's a small difference you make that makes you feel powerful and like you've made a difference, and I think ultimately that's what Superwoman's about, right? But sometimes you have to don the cape even when you don't feel like it, because it's a requirement of the role."
Women in charge
- New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) figures show 22 of New Zealand’s 78 (28.2%) council chief executives are female. Three years ago, there were 14 female chief executives (17.9%) and seven years ago there were eight (10.2%). The Central Otago District Council is one of only five in New Zealand, and the only one in Otago and Southland, to have had consecutive female chief executives. Of the SOLGM ‘‘tier two’’ managers (who report directly to the chief executive) 40.8% are women.
- In other Southern councils, the percentages of women in executive and manager/team leader positions are: Waitaki District Council: executive level 33% (two out of six), manager/team leader 38% (eight out of 21). Clutha District Council: no female executives (out of four), manager/team leader 50% (8 out of 16). Queenstown Lakes District Council: executive level 16% (one out of six), manager/team leader 45% (25 out of 55). Dunedin City Council: executive level 42% (three out of seven, including chief executive Sue Bidrose), manager/team leader 47% (56 out of 117). Southland District Council: executive level 42% (three out of seven), manager/team leaders 43% (10 out of 23).
- Australasian Local Government Performance Excellence Program data shows the proportion of women in chief executive and tier 2 local government roles is higher in New Zealand than in Australia. However, New Zealand councils are more likely to contract out some services, and those services may be more ‘‘male-dominated’’ occupations such as water engineers, etc.
- The Grant Thornton ‘‘International 2018 Women in Business’’ report showed the proportion of women in senior management teams had hit ‘‘an all-time low’’ of 18% (the report began in 2004, when women made up 31% of those in senior management teams). The number of businesses with no women in senior management roles had increased to 56% in 2018, compared with 37% the previous year. But the report said there was ‘‘compelling’’ evidence of the link between gender diversity and commercial success.
