EMILY's List Australia is a political

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

that supports progressive Labor Party (ALP) women candidates seeking election to

political office The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

. Founded in 1996, EMILY's List Australia was inspired by

EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

, a

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

with similar goals in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Issues central to the organisation's support of candidates are the principles of equity,

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights ...

, and the provision of

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

and

childcare Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

. The organisation supports candidates through directed donations, "Early Money" financial support, gender gap research and volunteer support. Over 284 EMILY's List members had been elected to state and federal Australian

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

s as of 2013.

Etymology

The name ''EMILY'' comes from its United States equivalent and is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" from the political saying, "Early money is like

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

, because it helps to raise the

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

History

1990s

On 26 November 1994, at ''Fire with Fire: The

Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Forum'' held at the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Parliament of ...

mentioned the plan currently before the ALP National Executive to introduce an Australian version of the US

Emily's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

. In 1994, the ALP National Conference passed an ''

Affirmative Action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

'' Rule requiring that women be pre-selected in 35 per cent of winnable

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

s, in all elections, by 2002. This was at the same time as passing of the ''Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986''. In 1995 the ALP decided to form an internal version of EMILY's List, and in 1996 Kirner established EMILY's List Australia outside the party. with the aim of attaining 45% female

membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

in both the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and 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 ...

2000s

In the 2004 Federal Election campaign EMILY's List donated a total of $100,000 to candidates. Research conducted by EMILY's List and submitted to the Labor Party's national executive stated that Labor women regarded then health spokeswoman

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. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

as the best performer during the campaign, with then Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

in second place. Of

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (; born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...

their submission stated; "the most common themes were: perceived aggression, concern he had been watered down for the campaign, inexperience, constantly going on about background, glib answers, bully boy tactics of the past."

2010-present

In the 2010 Federal Election campaign EMILY's List undertook Gender Gap research in six key marginal seats and undertook a targeted campaign incorporating materials along the themes of 'We Can't Trust Tony', 'Let's Make History' and 'Torpedo the Speedo'. In the 2012 Australian Capital Territory and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

elections, for the first time EMILY's List endorsed every female Labor Party candidate contesting those elections. Australia's first female prime minister,

, was a founding member of EMILY's List Australia and assisted to prepare their initial constitution. She presented the Inaugural EMILY's List Oration at Parliament House, Canberra in September 2011.

Organisational structure

EMILY's List Australia is run by a National Committee which includes

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

arians, volunteers and women unionists. Although it is a

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

organisation, is not controlled by the formal structures of the ALP. At the State and Territory level there are "Action Groups" (ELAG) which have their own organisational structures. Sharon Claydon, Member of the Australian House of Representatives and Leigh Svendsen are currently the National Co-

convenor The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

s."EMILY's List - About Us". Retrieved 2013-07-31.

References

External links

EMILY'S List Australia
{{Authority control Political advocacy groups in Australia 1996 establishments in Australia Abortion-rights organisations in Australia Abortion in Australia Feminist organisations in Australia Women's organisations based in Australia