Women in Australia refers to women's demographic and cultural presence in Australia. Australian women have contributed greatly to the country's development, in many areas. Historically, a masculine
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...
has dominated Australian culture.
Since 1984, the ''
Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The ''Sex Discrimination Act 1984'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which prohibits discrimination on the basis of mainly sexism, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, but also sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential ...
'' (Cth) has prohibited sex discrimination throughout Australia in a range of areas of public life, including work, accommodation, education, the provision of goods, facilities and services, the activities of clubs and the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs, though some residual
inequalities
Inequality may refer to:
Economics
* Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy
* Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups
* ...
still persist.
In 2017, Australia was ranked the world's safest country for women by the New World Wealth research group.
History
Colonial New South Wales
Australia was established in 1788 as a penal colony. The population was predominantly male, with between 1788 and 1792, around 3546 male and 766 female convicts being landed at Sydney. This severe gender imbalance created a lot of social problems. Some of the women engaged in
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
due to their economic circumstances, and because of the gender imbalance. The colonial administrations were anxious to address the gender imbalance. The first attempt to redress this imbalance was the voyage of the
Lady Juliana, a ship chartered to carry only female convicts to New South Wales, but which became notorious on the trip and was nicknamed "the floating brothel". European men would also exchange European goods for sexual services from Aboriginal women.
Women came to play an important role in education and welfare during colonial times. Governor Macquarie's wife,
Elizabeth Macquarie
Elizabeth Macquarie (; 1778–1835) was the second wife of Lachlan Macquarie, who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. She played a significant role in the establishment of the colony and is recognised in the naming of many A ...
took an interest in convict women's welfare. Her contemporary
Elizabeth Macarthur
Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an Anglo-Australian pastoralist and merchant, and wife of John Macarthur.
Early life
Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule, Devon, England, the daughter of provincial farmers, ...
was noted for her 'feminine strength' in assisting the establishment of the Australian merino wool industry during her husband
John Macarthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to:
*J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman
*John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author
* John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pro ...
's enforced absence from the colony following the
Rum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, the name derives from ...
. The Catholic
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...
arrived in 1838 and set about providing pastoral care in a women's prison, visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. They established hospitals in four of the eastern states, beginning with
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney is a leading tertiary referral hospital and research facility located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Though funded and integrated into the New South Wales state public health system, it is operated by St Vincent's Heal ...
in 1857 as a free hospital for all people, but especially for the poor. Many other Irish nuns established hospitals and schools.
Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm (born Caroline Jones; 30 May 1808 – 25 March 1877) was a 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her support of immigrant female and family welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the calendar of s ...
(1808–1877) established a migrant women's shelter and worked for women's welfare in the colonies in the 1840s. Her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony. Sydney's first Catholic bishop,
John Bede Polding
John Bede Polding, OSB (18 November 1794 in 16 March 1877 ) was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England on 18 November 1794. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother ...
founded an Australian order of nuns—the
Sisters of the Good Samaritan
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, colloquially known as the "Good Sams", is a Roman Catholic congregation of religious women commenced by Bede Polding, OSB, Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congreg ...
—in 1857 to work in education and social work. The
Sisters of St Joseph
The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for ...
were founded in South Australia by
Saint Mary MacKillop
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church, as St Mary of the Cross. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne but is best known f ...
and Fr
Julian Tenison Woods
Julian Edmund Tenison-Woods (15 November 18327 October 1889), commonly referred to as Father Woods, was an English Catholic priest and geologist who served in Australia.D. H. BorchardtTenison-Woods, Julian Edmund (1832–1889) ''Australian Dicti ...
in 1867. MacKillop travelled throughout
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
and established schools, convents and charitable institutions. She was
canonised
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
by
Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
in 2010, becoming the first Australian to be so honoured by the Catholic Church.
Late 19th-century suffrage
![Catherine Helen Spence](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Catherine_Helen_Spence.jpg)
Australia had led the world in bringing
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
rights during the late 19th century. Propertied women in the colony of South Australia were granted the vote in local elections (but not parliamentary elections) in 1861.
Henrietta Dugdale
Henrietta Augusta Dugdale ( Worrell; 14 May 1827 – 17 June 1918) was a pioneer Australian who initiated the first female suffrage society in Australia. Non-conformist, provocative and quick-witted, her campaigning resulted in breakthroughs ...
formed the first Australian women's suffrage society in Melbourne in 1884. Women became eligible to vote for the
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are ...
in 1895. This was the
first legislation in the world permitting women also to stand for election to political office and, in 1897,
Catherine Helen Spence
Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician, leading suffragist, and Georgist. Spence was also a minister of religion and social worker, and supporter of ...
became the first female political candidate for political office, unsuccessfully standing for election as a delegate to the Federal Convention on Australian Federation.
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
granted voting rights to qualified non-aboriginal women in 1899.
1901–1945
Women energetically participated in the war effort, with few signs of defeatism or resistance to government policies. In 1922, the
Country Women's Association
The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...
was formed with the intention to improve the lives of women in rural Australia. It has since expanded to become the largest women's organisation in the country.
Since 1945
![Victory job (AWM ARTV00332)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Victory_job_%28AWM_ARTV00332%29.jpg)
In 1974, the
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of in ...
granted women the full adult wage. However, resistance to women being employed in certain industries remained until well into the 1970s. Because of obstruction from elements of the Unions movement, it would take until 1975 for women to be admitted as drivers on
Melbourne's trams, and
Sir Reginald Ansett
Sir Reginald Myles Ansett KBE (13 February 1909 – 23 December 1981) was an Australian businessman and aviator. He was best known for founding Ansett Transport Industries, which owned one of Australia's two leading domestic airlines between ...
refused to allow women to train as pilots as late as 1979. In 1984, the Sex Discrimination Act became enforced, making sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment illegal. Criminalization of
marital rape
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...
in Australia began with the state of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in 1981, followed by all other states from 1985 to 1992.
[:''Citing'':]
Analytical writings
Until the 1960s, the Australian
national character was typically masculine.
Only in more recent decades has attention been paid to the role and marginal status of women and minority groups. One of the earliest studies on the role of women in Australian culture was conducted by
Miriam Dixson
Miriam Joyce Dixson (born 1930) is an Australian social historian and the author of ''The Real Matilda: Woman and Identity in Australia 1788 to 1975''.
Early life and education
Miriam Joyce Dixson was born in Melbourne in 1930. She graduated fro ...
in her 1975 study, The Real Matilda.
Dixson concluded that there was deep contempt for women in the Australian
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
and that the only role for women was within the family.
Marilyn Lake
Marilyn Lee Lake, (born 5 January 1949) is an Australian historian known for her work on the effects of the military and war on Australian civil society, the political history of Australian women"Book – A triumph of gentle Faith." Gold Coast ...
argues that the first stage of women's history in the 1970s demonstrated an angry tone, with a revolutionary critique that reflected its close connections with the
women's liberation movement
The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...
. By the late 20th century, women's history was less strident and more thoroughly integrated into social history and labour history. In the 21st century, the emphasis has turned to a broader horizon of "gender relations", which includes such concepts as femininity and masculinity.
Reproductive rights and health
Abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
in Australia was illegal in all circumstances until 1969, when the Menhennitt ruling in the
R v Davidson
''R v Davidson'', also known (particularly among medical practitioners) as the Menhennitt ruling,. was a significant ruling delivered in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 26 May 1969. It concerned the legality of abortion in the Australian state ...
case held that an abortion was legal if the physical or mental health or the life of the woman was endangered.
That principle has become accepted throughout Australia. As of 2019, abortion on demand was legal (up to certain limits) in all Australian states and territories except for South Australia. It is estimated that a quarter to a third of Australian women will have an abortion in their lifetime,
and the right to an abortion has strong popular support.
According to a 2017 study, abortions in Australia have an average cost of $560 after receiving the
Medicare rebate, with some women also incurring extra costs from travel, accommodation, GP referrals, lost wages, childcare and medical tests. 34% of women surveyed reported they found payment for abortions difficult or very difficult. The
maternal mortality
Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...
rate in Australia is 5.5 deaths/100,000 live births as of 2015.
[Global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015](_blank)
October 8, 2016. ''The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
.'' Volume 388. 1775–1812. See table of countries on page 1784 o
the PDF
Australia, as of 2014, had a
total fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were t ...
(TFR) of 1.8 babies born/woman, reflecting a
sub-replacement fertility rate; the replacement rate is 2.1 children born/woman.
This TFR has a recorded low of 1.74 in 2001, and a record high of 3.55 in 1961. The TFA has been below the replacement level since 1976.
Women in politics
Despite being given the right to stand for federal election in 1902,
women were not present for the first 20 years of Australian politics until the 1921 election of
Edith Cowan
Edith Dircksey Cowan (' Brown; 2 August 18619 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan h ...
to the
West Australian Legislative Assembly, and were not represented federally until the
1943 federal election when
Dorothy Tangney
Dame Dorothy Margaret Tangney DBE (13 March 19073 June 1985) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1943 to 1968. She was the first woman elected to ...
and
Enid Lyons
Dame Enid Muriel Lyons (née Burnell; 9 July 1897 – 2 September 1981) was an Australian politician who was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman to serve in federal cabinet. Prior to her own political ca ...
were elected to the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, respectively. Lyons would go on to become the first woman to hold a
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
position in Robert Menzies' 1949 ministry. Women would not go on to lead a state or territory until
Rosemary Follett
Rosemary Follett (born 27 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the inaugural Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995. She was the first woman to become head of gove ...
was elected
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usu ...
in 1989.
Australia's first female
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
was appointed in 2010.
Since the 1970s, women have received increasing representation in the parliament. Despite examples such as in 2010 females holding every position above them in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, (
Clover Moore
Clover Margaret Moore (née Collins, born 22 October 1945) is an Australian politician. She has been the List of Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney, Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Syd ...
as
Lord Mayor,
Kristina Keneally
Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Represe ...
as
Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
,
Marie Bashir
Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positio ...
as
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
,
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
as Prime Minister,
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...
as
Governor-General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.[Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...](_blank)
as
Queen of Australia
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
)
they still remain a minority in federal parliament, and as of 2021 number 37.9% (31.1% in the House of Representatives and 51.3% in the Senate), an increase of 5.9% from the previous election.
Dame
Roma Mitchell
Dame Roma Flinders Mitchell, (2 October 1913 – 5 March 2000) was an Australian lawyer, judge and state governor. She was the first woman to hold a number of positions in Australia – the country's first woman judge, the first woman to be a ...
was made the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1965, at the recommendation of
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
, South Australia's 38th Attorney-General. She was still the only female judge in South Australia when she retired 18 years later in 1983 although Justices
Elizabeth Evatt
Elizabeth Andreas Evatt (born 11 November 1933), an eminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the ...
and
Mary Gaudron
Mary Genevieve Gaudron (born 5 January 1943), is an Australian lawyer and judge, who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia. She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 until 1987 before her appointment to ...
had been appointed to federal courts by the
Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
Government. It was not until 1993 that the second woman was appointed to the court, Mitchell's former student, Margaret Nyland.
Gender equality
Towards the end of the 19th century, married women first acquired the rights to hold property of their own, sue and be sued, enter into contracts, be subject to bankruptcy laws, be liable for the debts contracted before their marriage, and for the maintenance of their children. They acquired the same rights as held by
unmarried women. Victoria passed the ''
Married Women’s Property Act'' in 1884, New South Wales in 1879, and the remaining states between 1890–97.
A
marriage bar
A marriage bar is the practice of restricting the employment of married women. Common in Western countries from the late 19th century to the 1970s, the practice often called for the termination of the employment of a woman on her marriage, especi ...
had applied to employment of women in a large number of industries. The ''Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902'' provided that every female officer was "deemed to have retired from the Commonwealth service upon her marriage".
The very great majority of women were effectively blocked from non-secretarial positions in the Commonwealth Public Service. In 1949 women were allowed into the clerical division of the service. In November 1966, Australia was the last democratic country to lift the legislated marriage bar which had prevented married women from holding permanent positions in the public service.
The immunity for
marital rape
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...
, whereby a spouse (typically the husband) could insist on
sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
with the other spouse without their
consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as und ...
, was removed in all states and territories, either by statute or judicial decision, between late 1970s and early 1990s. The first Australian state to deal with
marital rape
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...
was
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, under the progressive initiatives of Premier
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
, which in 1976 partially removed the exemption. Section 73 of the ''Criminal Law Consolidation Act Amendment Act 1976'' (SA) read: "No person shall, by reason only of the fact that he is married to some other person, be presumed to have consented to sexual intercourse with that other person".
Since 1983, a married woman has been able to apply for an
Australian passport
Australian passports are travel documents issued to Australian citizens under the ''Australian Passports Act 2005'' by the Australian Passport Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), both in Australia and overseas, which e ...
without needing an authorisation from her husband.
Since 1984, the federal ''
Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The ''Sex Discrimination Act 1984'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which prohibits discrimination on the basis of mainly sexism, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, but also sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential ...
'' has prohibited discrimination throughout Australia on the basis of mainly sexism, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, as well as sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or breastfeeding in a range of areas of public life, including work, accommodation, education, the provision of goods, facilities and services, the activities of clubs and the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs.
In 1991, the
marriage age in Australia of females was increased from 16 to 18, the age that had applied to males.
At November 2020, Australia’s national
gender pay gap
The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally found to be paid less than men. There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: non-adjusted ...
was 13.4%, with women’s average weekly ordinary full-time earnings across all industries and occupations being $1,562.00 compared to $1,804.20 for men.
[Australia's Gender Pay Gap Statistics 2021]
/ref>
See also
* Convict women in Australia
*List of Australian women artists
This is a list of women artists who were born in Australia or whose artworks are closely associated with that country.
A
*Anita Aarons (1912–2000), sculptor
*Prue Acton (born 1943), fashion designer
* Yilpi Adamson (born 1954), textile artist ...
*List of Australian women writers
This is a list of women writers born in Australia or closely associated with it in their writings. As with other Wikipedia page lists, writers need a page before inclusion.
A
*Mena Kasmiri Abdullah (born 1930), short story writer
*Joyce Ackroyd ...
*List of Australian sportswomen
List of notable Australian sportswomen. List is based on their inclusion into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Olympic and Paralympic individual gold medalist, multiple individual medalist at Olympic Games and world championships or recognized ...
*Women and government in Australia
Government in Australia is elected by universal suffrage and Australian women participate in all levels of the government of the nation. In 1902, the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia became the first nation on earth to enact equal suffr ...
*Women in the Australian military
Women currently make up 19.2% of the ADF workforce. Women have served in Australian armed forces since 1899. Until World War II women were restricted to the Australian Army Nursing Service. This role expanded in 1941–42 when the Royal Austra ...
* Women in Christmas Island
* Women in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
*Anti-discrimination laws in Australia
Anti-discrimination laws in Australia have been enacted at both federal and state/territory levels to outlaw discrimination and harassment in a range of areas of public life. Federal law operate concurrently with state/territory laws, so both sets ...
References
Primary sources
* Daniels, Kay, ed. ''Australia's women, a documentary history: from a selection of personal letters, diary entries, pamphlets, official records, government and police reports, speeches, and radio talks'' (2nd ed. U of Queensland Press, 1989) 335pp. The first edition was entitled '' Uphill all the way : a documentary history of women in Australia'' (1980).
* Teale, Ruth, ed. ''Colonial Eve: sources on women in Australia, 1788–1914'' (Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1978)
Further reading
* Alford, Katrina. ''Production or reproduction?: an economic history of women in Australia, 1788–1850'' (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1984)
* ''Filipino women in Australia''
* Damousi, Joy. ''Women Come Rally: Socialism, Communism and Gender in Australia 1890–1955'' (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1994)
* Damousi, Joy, and Marilyn Lake, eds. ''Gender and War: Australians at War in the Twentieth Century'' (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
* Daniels, Kay, ''So Much Hard Work: Women and Prostitution in Australian History'' (Sydney: Fontana Collins, 1984)
* Dixson, Miriam. ''The Real Matilda: Woman and Identity in Australia, 1788 to the Present'' (Penguin Books Australia, 1984)
* Grimshaw, Patricia, Marilyn Lake, Ann McGrath and Marian Quartly. ''Creating a Nation'' (Ringwood: Penguin, 1994); a general history of Australia with emphasis on social history and gender
* Grimshaw, Patricia. “The Australian Family: An Historical Interpretation,” in ''The Family on the Modern World'' ed. Alisa Burns, Gill Bottomley, and Penny Jools (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1983), pp 31–48.
* Hercus, Cheryl. ''Stepping out of line: Becoming and being feminist'' (Psychology Press, 2005
excerpt
* Lake, Marilyn. ''Getting equal: The history of Australian feminism'' (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1999)
*
* McMurchy, Megan, Margot Oliver, and Jeni Thornley. ''For love or money: a pictorial history of women and work in Australia'' (Penguin Books, 1983)
* Moreton-Robinson, Aileen. ''Talkin'up to the white woman: Aboriginal women and feminism'' (Univ. of Queensland Press, 2000)
* Ryan, Edna and Anne Conlon. ''Gentle Invaders: Australian Women at Work'' (Melbourne: Penguin, 1975).
* Saunders, Kay, and Raymond Evans, eds. ''Gender relations in Australia: Domination and negotiation'' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992)
* Sheridan, Susan. ''Along the Faultlines: Sex, Race and nation in Australian Women’s Writing 1880s–1930s'' (St Leonard, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 1995).
* Smith, Michelle J., Clare Bradford, et al. ''From Colonial to Modern: Transnational Girlhood in Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Literature, 1840–1940'' (2018
excerpt
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