Represent Us
Young women and gender-diverse people should grow up believing anything is possible – that they have opportunities in their lives to shape the world they live in.
Sadly, our current national Parliament does not represent the diversity of communities across Australia. Without this representation, valuable perspectives are not being included in decision-making and as we have seen over the last year, a dangerous culture is allowed to run rampant.
This federal election, we’re calling on political parties to urgently set targets to ensure our Parliament reflects the diversity of the country we live in, because young women and gender-diverse people deserve a place in our democracy.
Will you help transform Parliament into a safe and inclusive arena?
Take Action
Through targets, we can put an end to the old boys’ club and ensure people are no longer denied access to positions of power because of their gender, ethnicity or background. But targets will not be enough to transform Parliament. Alongside targets, we must tackle discrimination and misogyny in Parliament through implementing the recommendations outlined in the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s ‘Set the Standard’ report.
In the lead up to the Federal Election, both major parties are shaping how they will respond to the spate of reports of sexual misconduct, harassment and alleged rape in our national Parliament. Will you email the key players and call on them to make tangible commitments so that our parliament can be something that young people can aspire to be part of?
Anything short of tangible commitments to transform our Parliament is unacceptable. Ahead of the election, Australians deserve more than empty promises from our political representatives.
Your email will go to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Senator Simon Birmingham who is leading the implementation of the ‘Set the Standard’ report, and Minister for Women Marise Payne. It will also go to Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, Tanya Plibersek and Katy Gallager. Plibersek and Gallager are also involved in implementing the recommendations made in the ‘Set the Standard’ report.

Represent Us
We surveyed more than 1000 young women aged 18-24 – most of them voting for the first time – and asked them about the key barriers to entering politics. We asked our youth activists why diversity and safety was important to them, and drew on their insights on improving the culture of politics throughout this report.
90% of young women surveyed feel it’s easier for men to succeed in politics than women. 82% supported introducing diversity targets as an intervention to ensure the representation of women and people of different ethnicities. You can review the full findings and insights from young people in the report below.