A new tracking tool has laid bare the state of women’s representation in the Liberal Party, bringing attention to the dire lack of female Liberal MPs across federal and state parliaments.
The gender representation tracker, launched by Hilma’s Network, shows women make up just 29 per cent of Coalition representatives in federal parliament. In the House of Representatives, the figure drops to 20 per cent.
According to the tracker, the Liberal Party has its biggest problem on gender parity in lower houses, where the proportion of women in several states hovers around the 20 per cent mark. This is significant because lower houses are generally from where party leaders are chosen.
The Liberal Party’s female representation in upper houses tends to be higher, coming in at 45 per cent in federal parliament.
South Australia has the lowest proportion of Liberal women in its lower house of any parliament, with female MPs holding just 2 of the party’s 16 seats, or 12.5 per cent, in the legislative assembly.
In Queensland, where the state parliament consists of only one house, women hold just 6 of the LNP’s 34 seats, equating to 18 per cent.
Charlotte Mortlock, the founder of Hilma’s Network, said she hopes the hard statistics will see the issue taken seriously by Liberal Party members.
“Some people in our Party are still saying ‘the so-called women’s issue’ as a way to belittle our concerns as a sort of mythical and ambiguous feeling,” Mortlock told Women’s Agenda.
“Our women’s issue is not illusive. It is blatant, brazen and needs urgent attention.
“I think the best way to explain that to the membership and Party structure is through hard facts and statistics.”
Hilma’s Network is an organisation designed to connect Liberal-minded women and expand the base of Liberal Party members with more women and young people.
Mortlock says she hopes members of the Liberal Party will use tracker to check on the party’s progress, because, as she points out, the federal and NSW elections highlighted “not only is gender parity the right thing to do, it’s also just the right strategy to win”.
“I also hope every time a woman is in the midst of being persuaded to stand aside so a dude can run and not make waves about another male getting in, she is reminded of these stark statistics and puts her hand up anyway,” Mortlock said.
Looking ahead, Mortlock says the tracker can be used to keep the Liberal Party accountable.
“My preference every day of the week is quotas but we aren’t getting them,” she said. “We have had targets before and they failed because no one actually ever intended to implement them, or they weren’t passionate enough to make sure they were met.
“By creating this tracker I hope the media and public holds us to account to the goals we set. I certainly will be.”
As for Hilma’s Network, Mortlock says she is determined to get more women, especially younger women, involved in the party. The organisation has held a number of sell out events across the country since it launched last year.
“Hilma’s is not a flash in the pan. Initially people internally were suspicious of it, and that’s totally fine, we are in politics after all. However, we are now in our 7th month, with more than 720 people subscribed to the network and we have held sold out events in every state we have launched in,” she said.
“With or without the support of the Party and its existing members, we will flood the base of this Party with younger people and more women. This is the hill I’m dying on.”
Feature Image: Hilma’s Network Founder Charlotte Mortlock.