Australia still lags behind dozens of countries when it comes to female representation in federal parliament. A national program is hoping to change that by equipping more women with the skills and confidence to run for office.
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00:00 Sally Shepard has always been interested in entering politics, but she knows the road
00:07 to get there can be challenging.
00:09 I would love to see more women represented and proving that it is a space for us and
00:16 we all can do it if we want to.
00:18 In the last two decades, the number of women in federal parliament has risen from just
00:23 25% to almost 40%. But despite this progress, the way some female politicians have been
00:29 treated is seen as a deterrent.
00:32 She needs a mirror.
00:33 It's the stigma. I grew up in a time watching our first female prime minister get absolutely
00:38 obliterated in our media. And that's scary, but I've learnt now how to move through that.
00:43 I think it's made some of us question why we're even here. And the only reason you stay
00:48 is because you want to change that culture.
00:51 Australia is ranked 32nd in the world for female representation in parliament. It's
00:55 still well behind countries like Iceland, New Zealand and Rwanda at number one. A team
01:02 of academics are now leading a program aiming to improve Australia's position.
01:07 Having more diversity in politics is important because we need our representatives to reflect
01:13 the community.
01:14 South Australia is Australia's only state or territory which is yet to be led by a female.
01:20 While men outnumber women in the lower house, there's now equal representation in the
01:25 Legislative Council.
01:27 It's not just about women in seats. It's about women in leadership positions. We don't want
01:32 to flood the back benches with women. We want women on the front benches where the decisions
01:37 are actually being made.
01:39 We deserve to be up there and I think in the next ten years or so you'll see a big change
01:43 in both houses with more female representation.
01:46 Targets the program hopes to achieve when it's rolled out nationally next year.
01:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]