A 'Single White Female'...

[i-need-a-martini]

Other than it being a great movie, it now applies to the description of womens representation in the Australian government.

There are 6 (I think?) Liberal women in Cabinet, yet only one is appointed a Minister. Of the 6, quite a few would have been Ministry material - Sussan Ley and Fiona Nash spring to mind as two quite sensible politicians. Plus there are the 'rising stars' that the Liberal Party trotted out on a regular basis during the campaign - Scott and O'Dwyer. 

I'll steer clear of the sexism jibes aimed at Abbott as I think this is another issue. Nor will I buy into the argument that ministers are selected on merit and not gender because we know that sexism is alive and well throughout any high level organisation be it private corporation or government management. So the latter is simply an excuse.

But what I am most interested in is what it says about Liberal candidateship - why is it so male dominated and why are the few women candidates pushed forward so 'flimsy' (for want of a betterword) that Abbott decides that they aren't fit for a ministry position?

Does being a Liberal mean that you are most likely to be male and most likely to vote for a male?

It's quite interesting isn't it?

[kennedia_nigricans]

uuhhhhmmmm you may have missed it but this quote may explain it

I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons

http://whatistherundude.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/20-quotes-from-tony-abbott-to-remind-you-why-he-sho...

[lurker17260]

I don't believe in quotas. 

But I also don't believe, in this day and age, that in all the liberal party there is only one woman deemed to be suitable for a ministery. 

To me that says there is something wrong with either their recruitment and selection systems or .......

[i-need-a-martini]

As I said, that is another issue altogether.

I find it interesting that whilst there are record numbers of women lining up for preselection in seats across the country representing Labor, the Greens and the various Independents, the number of Liberal women has declined.

Why?

[kennedia_nigricans]

no, it's not another issue.

it is the same.

[cherry*135]

Not much chance of any female Liberal MP's (when there is only 1 to start with) working their way up to be Prime Minister .

[daydream**believer]

I dont care what sex our politicians are

[cherry*135]

Why would a female with political aspirations want to join the Liberal party?

[i-need-a-martini]

In 1943, Australia had 2 women in Federal Parliament.

It was in 1976 that a woman was finally given a portfolio. Since then we have had an increasing number of women in Parliament on all sides of the politics. 

Until now.

It defies logic really. Hawke, Howard and of course Rudd/Gillard have promoted some amazing women in their governments and many of those womens have become icons in our history. 

If the Liberal Party isn't attracting women 'of calibre', shouldn't they be looking inwards right now rather than lamenting the demise of someone as ineffectual as Mirabella? The irony is that Mirabella was specifically promoted without merit as a pretty face who would be sure to win so not sure what that says about the party...

And if anyone realy thinks it doesn't matter, then perhaps they need to give it a little more thought. 

[master*and*commander]

Of all the women nurtured by the Labor Government, how many of them lasted long term? How many of them demonstrated long term sustainability? Actually, how many of them demonstrated any kind of ability once they secured their positions?

It's one thing to attract "women of calibre" to fill a position, but quite another to attract one who can do the job evidenced by demonstrative performance once they secure the position.