Charlotte Mortlock, a well known advocate for women’s representation in the Liberal Party, has announced she is quitting the party following Sussan Ley’s leadership loss.
A former Liberal staffer and journalist, Mortlock founded Hilma’s Network in 2022 with the aim to increase women’s participation in the Liberal Party. The group is named after suffragist Hilma Molyneux Parkes, who formed the Women’s Liberal League of NSW in 1902, which won women the right to vote in pre-selections.
“I founded Hilma’s four years ago and am incredibly proud of all we have achieved, mainly the many women we supported across the country throughout preselections and elections, Mortlock wrote on Instagram, in a Sunday morning announcement of her decision to step down as Executive Director of the group, as well as relinquish her Liberal Party membership.
“Due to recent events I have decided there are other ways I can support women and Australia,” she said, adding that she wished “Hilma’s and the Liberal Party success in the future”.
Last week, on Friday morning, Ley, the first federal female leader of the Liberal Party, lost her leadership in a vote (34 to 17), against Angus Taylor, after spending just nine months in the position.
Ley was appointed Leader of the Opposition in May last year, with the Liberal Party already facing criticism over their ‘women problem’, or chronic gender representation crisis.
While the Liberals and Labor both set a target, more than a decade ago, to have 50 per cent female representation by 2025, only a third of Liberal MPs are women. By contrast, Labor reached 50 per cent female representation in 2022.
After Labor’s landslide victory at last year’s election, its caucus rose to 56 per cent women.
This gender representation seems to correlate with the candidates women voters are choosing, as the 2025 Australian Election Study (AES) found that the number of women voting for the Liberal Party has been dropping since 2004.
Gender quotas have been advocated by many looking to bolster representation in the Liberal Party, with Mortlock saying such quotas should also be used to improve policy offerings for women.
Mortlock was among six Liberal women in NSW to draft a plan to introduce a 40 per cent target for women MPs and ensure half the candidates in preselection contests were women. The plan was scrapped, however, by the state council’s March meeting agenda.
The new party leader, Angus Taylor, has already rejected the prospect of quotas, arguing that mentoring and recruitment support were better options.
The new Deputy Leader Jane Hume has also, historically, held a firm stance against gender quotas for the Liberal Party. Hume has, however, advocated for increasing the number of women in parliament.
Speaking to news of Mortlock’s resignation, Hume described it as a “really sad moment”, noting that Mortlock was a great voice for women with Liberal values.
“I was disappointed to hear this news today because the network she’s built, the Hilma’s Network, has been a fantastic pathway for so many women that have run for us in the last elections but also got involved in the party,” Hume said, noting that she doesn’t want the Hilma Network to lose its momentum in Mortlock’s absence.
Victoria representative Erin Watson will step into the role of Executive Director at Hilma’s Network, with Mortlock wishing her well and saying: “I know [Watson] will bring fresh energy and ideas to the position”.