PARLIAMENTARIANS


KEY SERIES

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Males (no.)	168	166	165	166	167	162	162	159	159	158	162
Females (no.)	56	60	61	60	59	64	64	67	67	68	64
Males (%)	75.0	73.5	73.0	73.5	73.9	71.7	71.7	70.4	70.4	69.9	71.7
Females (%)	25.0	26.5	27.0	26.5	26.1	28.3	28.3	29.6	29.6	30.1	28.3
(a) Reference period is as at 1 January in each year. Source: Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, Unpublished data, Australia.

RELATED SERIES

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Males (no.)	26	26	26	25	24	24	25	23	23	23	24
Females (no.)	4	4	4	5	6	6	5	7	7	7	6
Males (%)	86.7	86.7	86.7	83.3	80.0	80.0	83.3	76.7	76.7	76.7	80.0
Females (%)	13.3	13.3	13.3	16.7	20.0	20.0	16.7	23.3	23.3	23.3	20.0
(a) Reference period is as at 1 January in each year. Source: Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, Unpublished data, Australia.

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Males (no.)	16	16	15	14	14	14	14	16	16	16	16
Females (no.)	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4
Males (%)	94.1	94.1	88.2	82.4	82.4	82.4	82.4	80.0	80.0	80.0	80.0
Females (%)	5.9	5.9	11.8	17.6	17.6	17.6	17.6	20.0	20.0	20.0	20.0
(a) Reference period is as at 1 January in each year. (b) Federal government cabinet ministers represent a council of senior ministers. Source: Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, Unpublished data, Australia.

COMMENTARY


On 1 January 2011, 28% (64) of 226 federal parliamentarians were women. The proportion of federal parliamentarians who were women has risen by three percentage points since 2001, when there were 56 female federal parliamentarians out of a total 224 seats. In the federal government ministry, as at 1 January 2011, there were six female ministers, including the Prime Minister, compared to 24 male ministers.

National life is influenced not just by tangible qualities such as economic output, health and education, but also by many intangible qualities such as the quality of our public life, the fairness of our society, the health of our democracy and the extent to which citizens of Australia participate actively in their communities or cooperate with one another. (Endnote 1)

One of the principles underpinning democratic government is that parliament should represent and express the will of the people. Civil society is seen by many to be more effective if parliament is widely representative of the population. Since both males and females make up approximately equal proportions of Australia's population, representation of both genders in parliament is seen as crucial in a democratic society. (Endnote 2)

On 1 January 2011, the proportion of members of the House of Representatives who were women was 25% (37 out of 150), up from 23% (34 out of 148) in 2001. The proportion of senators who were women increased at a greater rate from 29% in 2001 to 36% in 2011 (up from 22 to 27 of the 76 senators). The proportion of parliamentarians in state governments who were women was 31% (185 out of 598) in 2011, similar to the proportion of federal parliamentarians.The proportion of state parliamentarians who were women has increased by nine percentage points since 2001 (up from 22% or 134 of the total of 598).


Federal and state government ministers

Gender equality in decision making positions is crucial in a democratic society. In the federal government ministry, as at 1 January 2011, there were six female, compared to 24 male, federal government ministers. The number of federal government ministers who were female has increased from four in 2001. Of the six female federal government ministers in 2011, four were Cabinet ministers, compared to 16 male cabinet ministers. In 2001, only one of the 17 federal Cabinet ministers was a woman.

As at 1 January 2011, 26% (31) of all the state/territory government ministers (117) were female compared to 22% (23 out of 104) in 2001.




ENDNOTES

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004, Year Book Australia, 2004, (cat. no. 1301.0) <www.abs.gov.au>.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Year Book Australia, 2009-10, (cat. no. 1301.0) <www.abs.gov.au>.


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