Ninth periodic report submitted by Australia under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Question 13: Participation in political and public life

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  1. Representation of women in political and public life
  2. Representation of women on Government boards
  3. Recognition of women in public life
  1. There have been improvements in women's representation in Australia's political and public life, and key leadership roles over recent decades, particularly at all levels of government.
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Representation of women in political and public life

  1. The Government does not implement special measures for women's representation in Parliament. Political parties may implement their own temporary special measures, including targets for women's representation. Funding is provided to Women for Election Australia, under Working for Women, to improve gender equality and diversity in politics. This equips and encourages women across the political spectrum to run for public office at local, state and federal levels.
  2. In the 47th Australian Parliament (as of June 2024), there are 59 women in the House of Representatives and 43 of the 76 senators are women. The Cabinet - currently consisting of 23 Ministers – comprises 10 women which is the highest number in Cabinet in Australia's history.
  3. As of September 2023, there were 9 First Nations women (15% of all Parliamentarians) in the 47th Parliament and 28 women (47% of all Parliamentarians) who identified as having at least one non-English speaking ancestry, with 6 of these women born in a country other than Australia.30 Data on women with disabilities in Parliament is not collected.
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Representation of women on Government boards

  1. In 2024, the Government renewed targets for gender balance on Australian Government boards – 50% representation of women at a whole‑of-Government level, and at least 40% representation of women at the individual board level. The Government also strengthened its commitments to achieving and maintaining gender balance on Australian Government boards through agreeing to 2 additional targets: women to hold 50% of positions and 50% of Chair and Deputy Chair positions on Australian Government boards at the portfolio level.
    • At 30 June 2024, women held 54.4% of Australian Government board positions and 45.3% of Chair and Deputy Chair positions on Australian Government boards. At 30 June 2024, 78.4% of Australian Government boards have met the target of women holding at least 40% of positions.31
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Recognition of women in public life

  1. The Government launched '#NominateAWoman' campaign in 2023 to increase nominations for women for the Order of Australia,32 where women were previously underrepresented. The campaign reached 550,385 people (August 2023) and resulted in increased Order of Australia honours for women. In the January 2024 Australia Day Order of Australia Awards List, women received 50.5% of awards (General Division), an increase from 48.1% in January 2023.
  2. Women received 50.5% of the Order of Australia awards in the 2023 King's Birthday honours list (General Division). The first time women received a majority of the awards. #NominateAWoman will run in 2025.
  1. 30 See, Research - Parliament of Australia ↩
  2. 31 See, Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards ↩
  3. 32 The Order of Australia recognises Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement. ↩
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