When the Beijing World Conference on Women took place in 1995, I was just starting my career as an employment lawyer in Australia and I recall Hilary Clinton’s reminder in her famous speech that...
Category: Feature
How women are winning as MPs
The recent 2020 ACT elections had a remarkable result: a majority of members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) elected are women, and at least half of every party’s MLA’s in the ACT are women....
It’s time to take stock of sexual harassment in Parliament
The recent ABC Four Corners program (Inside the Canberra Bubble) about sexist conduct in Federal Parliament and the potentially exploitative power imbalance between parliamentarians and staffers...
Five principles of feminist governance: A personal story
Being deeply involved in EMILY’s List leadership for the last 11 years is singularly the most amazing thing that I have ever done. A life changing opportunity, that has opened doors, enabled me to...
Til death do us part: Forced marriage in Australia
The death of 20-year-old Ruqia Haidari in Perth in January this year, allegedly murdered by her husband whom she wed only two months earlier, and the recent arrests of three of her family members,...
73,600,000 reasons to worry
With the dark cloud of the US presidential elections almost over, there are signs that things are slowly improving. We are not only cracking the gender ceiling with Kamala Harris as vice-president...
Lady justice is blindfolded in Afghanistan report
The Government’s response to Justice Brereton’s report for the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force into misconduct by Australia’s Special Forces in Afghanistan has been swift and sure....
Small steps lead to big strides for Afghan women
Time and again Afghanistan has been named as one of the worst places on earth for women. With a history of invasions, domestic and civil unrest, having had one of the strictest Islamic regimes on...
Taking advisory boards on board
Early last month, a report was quietly slipped onto the website of the Office for Women. There were, it appears, no news reports. It attracted little social media attention: the single Tweet from...