T​here appears to be a growing consensus across the political spectrum that the underrepresentation of women in Parliament needs to be addressed to ensure the ongoing legitimacy of the Australian political system.

This Briefing Paper provides an analysis of the current situation for women in parliament across Australia. The paper builds on the discussion of issues considered by the 2003 NSW Parliamentary Research Publication “Women in Parliament: The Current Situation”.

These include: barriers to women’s representation and the use of quotas. It also examines the role of two institutions in improving women’s representation: the political party and the parliament itself, using “best practice” case studies for comparison and as a source of future inspiration for change.