New Political Advisory Board to Advance Gender Equality in Australian Politics, Aligning with SDG 5

Formation of a Cross-Party Initiative for Gender Parity

A landmark national political advisory board has been formed by the non-partisan organisation Women for Election, uniting former political opponents to address gender disparity in public office. This initiative directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a primary focus on SDG 5: Gender Equality. The board’s mission is to ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of political decision-making, in line with SDG Target 5.5.

By bringing together a diverse group of leaders, the initiative also promotes SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, specifically Target 16.7, which advocates for responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.

Board Composition and Strategic Objectives

Distinguished Members

The 11-member board comprises a cross-section of experienced political figures, demonstrating a unified commitment to advancing SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by promoting the political inclusion of women. Members include:

• Karen Andrews (Former Liberal Minister)
• Linda Burney (Former Labor Minister)
• Rachel Siewert (Former Greens Senator)
• Zoe Daniel (Former Independent MP)
• Darrin Barnett (Former Press Secretary to Prime Minister Julia Gillard)
• Bronnie Taylor (Former NSW Women’s Minister)
• Melinda Morgan (National Liberal Women’s Council President)
• Chris McDiven (Former Liberal Party President)
• Jess Scully (Former Independent Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney)

Key Mandates for Achieving SDG 5

The advisory board will convene in September with a clear mandate to act as an outspoken force for change. Its strategic objectives are:

1. To dismantle systemic and structural barriers that hinder women’s participation in politics.
2. To ensure political environments at federal, state, and local levels are structured to embrace female leadership.
3. To provide leadership training and encouragement for women considering a run for public office.
4. To actively navigate the complexity of the political landscape to support female candidates across all parties and levels of government.

Current State of Female Political Representation in Australia

National Standing and Systemic Challenges

Australia’s progress towards SDG 5 is hampered by its global standing, with the World Economic Forum ranking the nation 30th for women’s representation in parliament. Despite the federal parliament approaching gender parity, significant challenges remain:

• Women remain under-represented at the state and local government levels.
• Political parties exhibit significant disparities; in the current federal parliament, Labor women outnumber coalition women by more than two-to-one.
• The issue of under-representation has been a persistent topic of discussion for over three decades without substantial progress in some parties.

Identified Barriers to Inclusive Governance

Testimonies from board members highlight the structural impediments that prevent the full realisation of SDG 5 and SDG 16. Former Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully cited the difficulty of balancing a political career with a young family as a key reason for leaving her role, stating, “If we want more representative politics, we have to make the structures more inclusive.” Former Liberal Party President Chris McDiven noted that achieving gender parity requires dedicated leadership training, observing that “men go for pre-selection 10 years before they’re ready and women do it 10 years too late.” These accounts underscore the need for systemic reform to create truly inclusive institutions.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article primarily addresses two Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on the under-representation of women in Australian politics and the collaborative, cross-party effort to address this issue.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality – This is the most central SDG to the article. The entire piece revolves around the mission of the “Women for Election” advisory board to “increase gender parity in public office,” break “structural barriers to women’s participation in politics,” and ensure political environments “are ready to embrace female leadership.”
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – This goal is relevant as it promotes building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. The article’s call for “more representative politics” and making “the structures more inclusive” directly relates to strengthening political institutions by ensuring they reflect the population they serve. The formation of a cross-party board to achieve this demonstrates an effort to improve institutional integrity and representativeness.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

The article’s content points directly to specific targets within SDG 5 and SDG 16.

1. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
   • The article explicitly supports this target by highlighting the formation of a “national political advisory board aimed at increasing gender parity in public office.” It discusses the need for women to have equal opportunities, mentioning that while the federal parliament is near parity, women “remain under-represented at the state and local levels,” which are key levels of decision-making.
2. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
   • This target is addressed through the article’s emphasis on making politics more representative. Former deputy lord mayor Jess Scully is quoted saying, “If we want more representative politics, we have to make the structures more inclusive.” The advisory board’s mission to support women candidates “across all sides, and at all levels, of politics” is a direct action towards making decision-making bodies more participatory and representative of the general population’s gender makeup.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article mentions several quantitative and qualitative indicators that align with the official indicators for the identified targets.

1. Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments.
   • The article provides specific data points that serve as this indicator:
     • It states that “Australia ranks 30th globally on women’s representation in parliament.”
     • It notes that while the “newest federal parliament is close to gender parity, women remain under-represented at the state and local levels.”
     • It provides a party-specific breakdown: “In the newest federal parliament, Labor women outnumber coalition women more than two-to-one.”
2. Indicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions (by sex…) in public institutions (national and local legislatures…).
   • This indicator is functionally identical to 5.5.1 in the context of this article. All the data points mentioned above—such as the global ranking, the disparity between federal and local representation, and the party-level statistics—can be used to measure the proportion of positions held by women in Australia’s legislative institutions, thereby tracking progress towards more representative decision-making. The goal of achieving “gender parity” is a direct reference to improving this indicator to a 50% proportion.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Summary

Source: au.news.yahoo.com