The Minister for Women in the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

Katy Gallagher Katherine Ruth Gallagher (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Albanese Gover ...

, who since 23 May 2022 has been a member of the Albanese ministry. Ministers holding the position, first introduced in 1976 during the Second Fraser ministry, have held several different titles. They have often held other portfolios, and sometimes sat in

Cabinet of Australia The Cabinet of Australia (or Federal Cabinet) is the chief decision-making organ of the executive branch of the government of Australia. It is a council of senior government ministers, ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament. Minister ...

. All but the first two office-holders have been women.

History

A women's affairs branch was established within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1976. Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

announced he wished to "have formal machinery set up for the co-ordination of government activity in women's affairs". He appointed

Tony Street Anthony Austin Street (8 February 1926 – 25 October 2022) was an Australian politician. He served in the House of Representatives from 1966 to 1984, representing the Division of Corangamite for the Liberal Party. He held ministerial office in ...

as the first Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Women’s Affairs; Street and his successor

Ian Macphee Ian Malcolm Macphee AO (born 13 July 1938) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 until 1990. He is best known for his contributions in developing Australian multiculturalism and for bein ...

are the only men to have held the post. Senator

Margaret Guilfoyle Dame Margaret Georgina Constance Guilfoyle (; née McCartney; 15 May 192611 November 2020) was an Australian politician who served as a senator for Victoria from 1971 to 1987, representing the Liberal Party. She was the first woman to hold a c ...

, the only female minister at the time (and one of only six women in parliament), declined the position, as she was unwilling to be pigeonholed into portfolios that were considered "women's work".

Scope

In the

, the Minister administers the portfolio through the Office for Women within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with the budget being administered through the Department of Social Services. Currently, the Minister works with other Government Ministers to ensure that women's issues and gender equality are taken into consideration in policy and program development and implementation. The Office for Women supports the Minister in this role, and is the central source of advice for Government agencies on the impact of Government policies and programmes for Australian women.

List of ministers

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Women, or any of its precedent titles:

List of assistant ministers

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Women, or any of its precedent titles:

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Women's rights in Australia