Is it just me or do our female politicians set the bar high as role models? That’s what I concluded yesterday after reading snippets from an interview with the former Queensland premier, Anna Bl…
Joe Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull: I’m looking at you two for change
Last week, with my great-Aunt, I attended a lecture given by a senior research fellow from The University of Sydney, Dr Julia Horne. The subject was the history of women attending university and, as I…
What TV taught me about hate
On Sunday night I appeared on a television program called Paul Murray Live on Sky News. I was invited, as the acting editor of Women’s Agenda, to be part of a panel to discuss the weekend storie…
Tony Abbott’s new Cabinet: Alarmed but not surprised
By now you will have heard the news. Tony Abbott has unveiled his new Cabinet and it comprises 18 men and just one woman, the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. Afghanistan has three times as many women …
What we can learn from Julia Gillard
Over the weekend The Guardian seized a sizeable scoop and published an essay written by the former prime minister Julia Gillard. The piece, that covered her personal reaction to her deposal, her visio…
From Afghanistan to Australia and back: a foreign correspondent’s personal fight for freedom
She has travelled through war-torn regions in Yemen, Libya and Iraq for her work but for Yalda Hakim’s parents, it is her trips to Afghanistan they find the hardest to understand. Their resistan…
Hope alone won’t boost the number of women on boards
New research confirms that hope alone will not boost the representation of women on boards. The recently released Women on Boards 2013 Boardroom Diversity Index clearly shows that having managed targe…
Why Bob Hawke’s opinion about Tanya Plibersek’s leadership potential is not excused
Earlier this week I wrote about Bob Hawke’s assertion that Tanya Plibersek isn’t in contention for the ALP leadership because she has a three-year old. I explained that my initial reaction…
Why my marriage looks old fashioned
After writing about my hellish experience finding suitable childcare for our daughters a reader asked a very valid question in the comments section. If I have a partner where was he in all of it? She …
Having a three year old might make Tanya Plibersek a better leader
Over the weekend it was reported that former prime minister Bob Hawke cited her having a three year old child as a reason Tanya Plibersek isn’t being considered a frontrunner for the ALP leaders…