What a week it’s been for women in politics (again), including with the emotional valedictory speeches from Labor’s Kate Ellis and the Liberal Party’s Kelly O’Dwyer, and (we th…
Dai Le to run as an independent in the Sydney seat of Cabramatta
Despite reportedly being personally wooed by the Premier Gladys Berejiklian to run for the Libs, the former Liberal candidate and Fairfield councillor Dai Le will contest the safe Labor seat of Cabram…
‘I need to act as a role model’: Raya al-Hassan appointed Arab world’s first female interior minister
Lebanon’s new government has appointed Raya al-Hassan as interior minister, seeing her become the first woman in the Arab world to take on such a portfolio. al-Hassan is a senior politician in Lebanon…
Politics, not just conservative political parties, has a “woman problem”
For quite some time, it has been obvious that the Australian Coalition Government and the Liberal Party in particular, has a pretty significant “woman problem”. Late last year, the slow burn of Libera…
How women helped secure a historic victory for refugees in Canberra
Tuesday the 12th of February was historic. It wasn’t easy or pretty and nor is it over, but for the first time since 1929 a sitting Government lost a substantive vote in the House of Representatives. …
The value of mothers in politics can’t be underestimated
I loved seeing motherhood celebrated in the campaigns of women running for office during the 2018 US midterm elections. Some candidates shared footage of themselves breastfeeding in their launch video…
Vitriol towards Kelly O’Dwyer proves Australia’s undeniable ‘women issue’
“There’s no sign of improvement in my view, certainly not online or on Twitter.” These were the words of former MP Craig Emerson yesterday, when asked about the treatment of women in…
The problem with Kelly O’Dwyer leaving Canberra
Even before I read the reasons that Liberal minister Kelly O’Dwyer was exiting politics I understood. Of course I did. Who wouldn’t? When I heard her explain how the trauma of suffering a miscarriage …
In 2019 the Libs’ women problem is as far from fixed as ever
‘Told you so’ is, admittedly, a rather childish refrain to begin an article, let alone a new year with, and yet here we are. ‘Told you so’ are the three words I cannot escape when reflecting on the di…
‘Remarkable & terrifying’: We ask female leaders to describe 2018 for women
This time last year, the predictions were rolling in regarding what kind of year 2018 would be, especially given the momentum #MeToo was gaining globally. Author Marianne Schnall declared it would be …