The Massachusetts Municipal Management Association established the Women Leading Government Committee as a formal committee in 2018. Its mission is to educate, mentor, encourage and support women in the local government profession. While its focus is to provide resources and support for women in municipal government or those interested in a career in local government, men are welcome and encouraged to participate.

The WLG Committee consists of 12 members who meet throughout the year to plan, organize and hold events at various locations throughout Massachusetts. The committee conducted a survey to solicit topics of interest and preferred locations for WLG events. Based on survey results, the committee scheduled events in Hudson in June 2018, Amherst in November 2018, and Plainville in February 2019.

Each event includes a roundtable discussion on a selected book led by a facilitator who is a member of the committee. These informal discussions enable attendees to interact with each other and promote interesting and topical dialogue.

The WLG committee stems from an initiative begun in 2017 by five women managers and assistant managers who organized to plan a couple programs that would be of interest to municipal managers, department heads and employees interested in a career in municipal management. During that first year, the group organized and held three events. The MMMA was supportive of the initiative and established the formal WLG Committee in January 2018.

In addition to planning three events annually, the long-term goal of the committee is to develop Women Leading Government into an ICMA-recognized entity similar to chapters formed in several other states. There are no such entities in New England.

For more information about the Women Leading Government Committee, contact Senior Member Services Coordinator Denise Baker at the MMA.