Pathways to Politics for Women celebrates 10 years
Pathways to Politics for Women – which has equipped more than 600 women across Australia with the skills and experience to run for political office – has celebrated its 10th anniversary.
More than 150 alumni of the foundation Victorian program, many of whom are MPs and local councillors from across the political spectrum, joined the celebration at Government House Victoria in Melbourne last night.
Four alumni took part in a panel discussion moderated by University of Melbourne Program Director and National Co-Convenor Dr Meredith Martin, reflecting on how the program has shaped their political journeys: Cr Elisha Lee, City of Monash; Dr Sarah Mansfield, Greens MP for Western Victoria and Deputy Leader of the Greens in Victoria; Dr Katie Allen, Liberal Candidate for Chisholm and former member for Higgins and Jenna Davey-Burns, former Independent Mayor of Kingston.
Pathways to Politics for Women is a national, non-partisan initiative that works to increase female representation in Australian politics by equipping women from diverse backgrounds with the skills, networks and confidence to pursue political leadership at all levels of government.
In the years following the first successful program in 2016, founding partners the University of Melbourne, Trawalla Foundation and Women’s Leadership Institute Australia worked with leading universities in each state and territory to expand the program’s reach, tailored to each local context. The program became fully national in 2024.
There are more than 600 alumni nationally and more than 200 have run for pre-selection or political office. 84 electoral successes have been achieved – across the political spectrum and at all levels of government – including two alumni currently sitting in the Federal Parliament and seven alumni in Victoria’s Parliament across five political parties.
In 2024, 120 alumni ran in state, territory and local elections across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and the ACT, with 49 successfully elected, equating to a 41 per cent success rate.
Last night’s event was hosted by the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, serving as a graduation of the 2024 cohort as well as a celebration of the program’s significant achievements over the last decade.
Program founder Carol Schwartz AO said: “I established Pathways to Politics for Women in 2015 in partnership with the University of Melbourne because I felt a sense of outrage that our parliaments and councils had such gender imbalance.
“I am so proud of the successes of our alum community and the sustained impact of the program over the past decade – it is literally changing the face of Australian politics.”
Dr Martin said: “Through this program we have made considerable strides in strengthening female representation in Australian politics by equipping women from diverse political, cultural and professional backgrounds with skills and opportunities to take their place at decision-making tables.
“While there’s more work to do to achieve true gender equality, we remain committed to strengthening the now national program and empowering more diverse women to step into political leadership.”
Women account for 45 per cent of all positions in Australian federal, state and territory parliaments. In Victoria, 43 per cent of local councillors are female.
In the House of Representatives, 39 per cent of MPs are female and out of those, 36 are Labor, 9 Liberal, two are Nationals, 9 are Independent and two others are from the Greens and Centre Alliance.
“The upcoming federal election presents an opportunity to boost these numbers, with 10 Pathways to Politics alumni already announcing their candidacies across the political spectrum, with more to follow,” Dr Martin said.
“It’s also inspiring to see six participants from our inaugural WA program last year running in next month’s WA state election – fittingly, on International Women’s Day.”
Applications for the 2025 program open nationally on 6 March 2025.