On 6 March 2024 Senator Penny Wong becomes the longest serving female Cabinet Minister. Her cumulative 2,769 days in Cabinet (over 7 and a half years from 2007–13 and 2022 onwards) sees her overtake fellow South Australian Amanda Vanstone (who served from 1996–7 and 2001–7). Upon such a notable achievement, this Flagpost article reflects on the broader history of women in Cabinet and highlights their important and varied contributions. Read more...
From 11 to 22 March, the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is scheduled to hold its 68th annual meeting, as the ‘principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women’. Australia played a formative role in establishing the CSW in 1946, and recently concluded a membership term from 2020 to 2023. This Flagpost gives an overview of some of the key Australian women who helped establish the CSW and direct its functions and efforts in the early years. Read more...
Federal redistribution processes provide an opportunity to introduce new electorate names, either by renaming existing electorates or naming new ones. Recent redistribution processes, including those in Victoria and Western Australia in 2021, have included calls for more diverse electorate names to honour more women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This Flagpost article examines the electorate naming processes, current levels of diversity, and commentary advocating for change. Read more...
On 8 March 2023, a commemorative sculpture of Dame Enid Lyons and Dame Dorothy Tangney will be unveiled in the National Triangle (Parliamentary Triangle) near the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. It will be the first statue of Australian women in the Triangle; the only woman previously honoured was Queen Elizabeth II, whose statue is located on the Queen’s Terrace at Parliament House. Read more...
The recent announcements of the first Albanese ministry and the first Dutton-Littleproud shadow ministry saw both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition emphasise the number of women on their frontbenches. How much has the gender composition of the ministry and shadow ministry changed, and how significant are those changes? Read more...
Sunday 12 June 2022 marked 120 years since Australian women gained the right to vote in federal elections, following the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 (Franchise Act). The Act extended the franchise to ‘persons not under twenty-one years of age whether male or female, married or unmarried’. The Act also gave women the right to stand as candidates in federal elections. With its passage, Australia became the first country in the world to give most women both the right to vote and the right to run for parliament. New Zealand women had gained the right to vote in 1893, but not the right to stand as candidates. Read more...
How does the gender composition of the Australian parliament compare with parliaments around the world, and how has it changed over the past two decades? Read more...
This article provides a brief overview of women’s participation in the Australian workforce, providing some key rates with age breakdowns, part-time employment rates, employment status and involvement in leadership roles. Read more...
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