Women in power keep disappearing - Women's Agenda

Women in power keep disappearing

NSW has joined the ranks of the Federal, Queensland and other state governments in seeing the representation of women in Cabinet go backwards.

Just five women are featured in new NSW premier Mike Baird’s slightly reshuffled 22- person Cabinet, down from six under his predecessor, Barry O’Farrell. Robyn Parker is out, with her environment portfolio going to Robert Stokes, who joins four other men as new ministers in the government.

Five women remain in the cabinet: Gladys Berejiklian, Pru Goward, Jillian Skinner, Katrina Hodgkinson and Gabrielle Upton.

Sure, it’s ‘only’ one less woman, but when we’re led to believe that progress is actually being made for women in leadership, it’s more evidence that slight incremental improvements to the proportion of women in power can swiftly go backwards. And one woman reaching a key position of power is only meaningful for the time in which she remains in power, unless there’s a strong pipeline of female talent behind her.

Indeed, as I’ve written before, progress for women when it comes to measurements of power — such as in cabinet, on boards or community leadership — can never actually be assured or guaranteed to stick in the long run. When the number of women in such positions is so minuscule in the first place, the loss of one makes a significant difference. We have to reach the tipping point of 40% or more before we can truly ignore the loss of one woman in cabinet, on the ASX, in management or any any other key position of power.

In the full Federal ministry we’ve seen a significant drop in the number of women represented since the election of the Abbott government — at just one, down from a record 11 when Kevin Rudd appointed three new women after taking back the leadership of the Labor party in 2013.

Things change quickly when it comes to women in leadership. It wasn’t so long ago that we were celebrating our first female PM and first female Governor General, all taking power at a time when there was a number of female premiers in office across the country. Dame Quentin Bryce, Julia Gillard, Anna Bligh and more recently former Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings have now all left their positions of power — albeit in different ways.

There’s still some good news though, with Gladys Berejiklian taking the NSW Liberal Party deputy leadership.

×

Stay Smart! Get Savvy!

Get Women’s Agenda in your inbox