Name: Lucy Bourchier
Community/State: Koonoomoo, Victoria
School: Goulburn Valley Grammar School
Age/Grade: 17 Years, Year 11
Overcoming the odds – how can we push through barriers to achieve gender equality?
The 46th Parliament of Australia, elected in May this year, is remarkable for having the largest percentage of women elected of any Australian Parliament, and while this is an achievement to be celebrated, the actual numbers hint at a reality far from utopic. This is because, despite having the greatest female representation since Federation, the actual percentage of female politicians is 35%, or just over a third.
While the statistics outlined above may read to be fairly superficial, they are most likely a root cause of why, even after such radical change in the last few decades, we are still struggling to achieve full equality of the sexes. And while on face value the political gender imbalance may seem to be a product of such a system, the fact is that it is almost certainly a foundation for the imbalance to exist in the first place. It is common sense that rule by the few of the many can only work if diversity exists within the ruling class, so it should come as no surprise that a governing party, comprised of almost 80% men, would fail to place the advancement of women as one of their main priorities.
But how can women, and men, change this? How can we push through the existing barriers that judge a man’s ‘merit’ to be intrinsic, but a woman’s as something that must be toiled for, and even then not achieved? The answer lies in the system, because the truth is, a society that portrays itself as equal, but has such a large gender disparity in positions of power, is not equal at all.
We need to continue to talk about gender equality, to lobby companies who still refuse equal pay, to combat inequalities in the STEM industry, to acknowledge that, of the top 200 companies on the ASX, only 14 of their CEOs are women. There needs to be continued support of female-empowerment based equity movements, and greater access to the services needed for women to be able to reach positions of influence, as, without women in power, there will be no discussion of issues benefiting women, the system will not change, and there is no benefit for a system in which 50% of the population are disadvantaged.
Australia needs more women at the table, because, without them, the barriers for women’s success become barriers for everyone’s success.
References:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-2019-election-did-almost-nothing-to-improve-gender-equality-in-parliament