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

Represent Us

Women... are not adequately represented in Parliament. And for those that have worked so hard to get there, to take that seat – it’s not even safe.

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.

Read the Report

It's time to see a Parliament as diverse as its people.

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Our asks

Safety
Safety
All parties commit to implementing all of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s 'Set the Standard' report recommendations in 6-18 months. The report makes clear through its recommendations that driving change in Parliament will require leadership, accountability and a focus on safety and wellbeing, including proactive policies to prevent abuse before it starts.
Targets
Targets
All political parties set targets for the representation of women, if they do not already have them, and targets for people of different ethnicities to ensure that Federal Parliament reflects the diversity of Australia. All parties commit to achieving population parity across gender, ethnicities and backgrounds by 2030.
Accountability
Accountability
All parties commit to introducing mechanisms to report back to survivors on the implementation of the 'Set the Standard' recommendations, and that this is reflected as part of the implementation plan.