Following the ousting of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and allegations that women were bullied during the leadership spill, independent Victorian MP Cathy McGowan cast doubt on the Coalition's ability to boost the number of women in its ranks, claiming the Government hadn't even managed to reach its target of 50 per cent female representation on government boards. But is that a fair assessment? Ms McGowan is jumping the gun. The Coalition has not yet achieved 50 per cent female membership of government boards, but this target was only set in March 2016. In the two years since, the Government has boosted female representation on boards. Data available at the time of Ms McGowan's claim, for December 2017, shows women had achieved a record 44.5 per cent board membership. This is up from 40.5 per cent recorded in June 2016, three months after the Government set the target, and from 42.7 per cent in June 2017. In total, this amounts to an increase of 4 percentage points in 18 months. Under the Coalition, between June 2016 and December 2017, female representation increased by an average of 0.22 percentage points per month. The proportion of women on boards fell back under former Coalition prime minister Tony Abbott. However, Ms McGowan's claim relates to the period since March 2016 when the Turnbull government set the 50 per cent target. On current trends, that target would be met by January 2020.
Verdict: Jumping the gun