New Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has committed to appointing 50% women to all government boards and Victorian courts between now and 2018.
The Premier, elected in a surprise win for Labor late last year, addressed his first state Labor conference on Saturday. The centrepiece of his address was his new 50/50 gender policy.
He made clear that out of every two appointments made to any government board or any judiciary seat during his term as Premier, one would be a woman.
The judiciary’s 50/50 quota applies to all Victorian courts – from the district courts to county courts and the Supreme Court of Victoria. The policy will also apply to all paying positions on public Victorian boards.
The manner in which Andrews has framed the move is marvelous in its simplicity: it’s time our public institutions accurately represented the society we live in.
“I’m sick of walking into meetings and seeing a room full of blokes sitting around the table,” he told the conference.
“Of all of the appointments my Government makes between now and November 2018, at least one half of them will be women, and I’ll be held accountable for it.”
“Under this Government, equity is not negotiable.”
He described his decision as a “step forward” for the state.
“This is a step forward for our state – public institutions that actually represent the public. It means balance. It means better decisions.”
He said his decision to enforce the policy came from his disappointment that previously government quotas had not been delivered.
“Female representation on major government boards in Victoria has fallen from 40 per cent to a little more than 35 per cent in four years,” he said.
He said many government boards in Victoria perform particularly badly when it comes to appointing women – women make up less than 25% of the board of Melbourne Health despite the fact that women make up 80% of health care workers.
The boards of the Department of Public Transport Victoria, the Treasury and the Country Fire Authority are all also made up of less than 25% women, Andrews explained.
Currently, women make up less than one third of judicial positions on Victorian courts.
He made clear he would take responsibility for solving the problem.
“But all of this isn’t their fault — it’s our fault. After all, government appointments are made by government,” he said.
“It is not a target, it is not an aspiration — it is an assurance.”
Andrews expressed his disappointment that the federal government had not made any attempts to improve the representation of women on its boards, and directly criticised the government for the lack of women in its cabinet.
“A lot of people in this room made a lot of noise when Tony Abbott only found one seat at his Cabinet table to represent 11 million Australian women,” he said.
Andrews’ commitment to achieving real parity and balance is commendable, and his track record suggests he will beable to follow through on that commitment.
Andrews swore in a cabinet that included a record-breaking nine women late last year.
Andrews’ decision to put this policy front and centre at his first ALP conference as Premier is significant, and we look forward to seeing it come into fruition.
If you want more leaders to adopt a similar stance join Fair Agenda’s campaign.