In this Whitlam Legacy Paper, our Distinguished Fellow, the Hon. Susan Ryan AO, documents the remarkable achievements of trailblazing feminists involved in the Women’s Revolution of the ‘70s, alongside insights from emerging leaders from today’s feminist vanguard.

Ryan, among other achievements, was Australia’s first woman to hold a Cabinet post in the federal Labor Government. She finalised the paper just before her sudden and tragic death in September, and it showcases her remarkable knowledge and invaluable insight into Whitlam’s women’s agenda, revisits major policy and law reform initiatives of the Whitlam Government – such as childcare, women’s refuges, universal health cover and equal pay – and offers an assessment of the longer-term effects of the reforms of 1972-1975.

“The legacy lives on. Universal health care, despite many attacks, remains and continues to achieve Whitlam’s initial hopes. School participation of girls grew rapidly ... Female participation in many university faculties is higher than for males. Equitable access to university education has grown dramatically ... Research is no longer closed to females and consequently women make crucially important contributions to our national research output,” writes the Hon Susan Ryan AO.