Te Whare Pora trust chairwoman Amy Pearl said councils were meant to represent the local population, but with so few women standing, it would be difficult for local councils and boards to be representative.
The trust, based in Wanaka, was dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment.
Only five of 22 candidates running in elections in Wanaka were women, and representation of women could be below 20%, she said.
The main barrier was family-unfriendly hours, she said.
The trust contributed to the nomination fees of seven women running for local office in the Otago area. Te Whare Pora will host a ''meet the women candidates'' evening at the Lake Wanaka Centre next Wednesday at 7pm, to give voters the opportunity to hear from women candidates.
Wanaka ward councillor Ella Lawton said there were barriers for many people entering local body politics, not just women, but it could be very hard for young women, in particular, especially those with families.
What concerns Cr Lawton most is not the number of women elected - although it is important - but the low number of women standing for election.
''At the end of the day, you want the best people for the role but it's important voters have a range of different voices to choose from and this time around, they won't have a great number of views from a female perspective,'' she said.
