Women in parliament: the current situation

Beginning by by examining the numbers of women in Australian parliaments, particularly in NSW and at federal level, this paper looks at the extent to which women are represented in various political parties and in more senior political positions. The paper explores why women remain underrepresented despite numerous national and global initiatives to improve the number of women parliamentarians. Research has indicated that political parties frequently present the greatest obstacle to women being elected due to their preselection procedures. Accordingly, the strategies adopted by individual parties to boost the number of female members are examined