Throughout its history, Labor has been a progressive force for women, establishing many of the reforms and initiatives that continue to drive gender equality to this day.

Australian Labor: Leading the way for representation of women

In addition to leading the major policy changes that have propelled gender equality in Australia, the ALP also leads in the representation of women in parliament.

Labor is the first majority woman Federal Government, with women making up 52% of the Labor Caucus.

And the Albanese Labor Government’s Cabinet is now the first ever Federal Cabinet to be gender equal – with women comprising 11 of the 22 Ministers.

The representation of women in Labor is not by accident.

On 26 September 1994, the ALP made the historic decision to introduce quotas for women at the 1994 National Conference. The changes meant the ALP aimed to achieve 35 per cent of women ALP MPs by 2002. This decision prescribed that 35 per cent of candidates preselected for winnable federal parliamentary seats must be women – whether the ALP was in government or in opposition – by 2002.

In 2012 this was replaced by a 40:40:20 quota.

Key achievements

1940s: Party member and close-run candidate for the federal seat of Wentworth, Jessie Street, is part of the Labor Government’s delegation to the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945 – one of only eight delegations that included women. Alongside these women, Jessie Street was instrumental in ensuring the UN charter recognised the rights of women, and in the establishment of a permanent UN Commission on the Status of Women, separate from the Human Rights Commission. Street went on to be the Commission’s first Vice President.

On 21 August, 1943, Labor Senator for WA, Dorothy Tangney, becomes the first woman elected to the Australian Senate, going on to serve for 25 years. Tangney promoted equal pay and opportunity, endowments for abandoned women and war widows, education for all, medical pensions and benefits for disabled Australians as well as free tertiary education.

1970s: Whitlam appoints Elizabeth Reid, the world’s first adviser on women’s issues to a head of government. This also leads to the establishment of the Office for Women.

The Whitlam Government introduces no fault divorce, introduces the supporting mothers’ benefit (now called parenting payment) to support single mothers, passes the Family Law Act 1975, removes the tax from the contraceptive pill, and supports the decision leading to women’s equal pay for work of equal value. The Whitlam Government also appoints the first of Australia’s women Ambassadors (Dame Annabelle Rankin as High Commissioner to New Zealand in 1971, and Ruth Dobson, as Ambassador to Denmark in 1974).

1980s: Hawke Government releases the world’s first Women’s Budget Statement. The Women’s Budget Statement receives international acclaim and is the pioneer of gender responsive budgeting around the world.

The Hawke Government establishes the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act, which comes into effect on 1 August 1984, and also sets up the Affirmative Action Agency, which will go on to become the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

On 11 February 1986, Labor’s Joan Child becomes Australia’s first female Speaker of the House of Representatives.

1990s: The ALP introduces quotas for women in winnable federal parliamentary seats.

2000s/2010s: Rudd Government introduces Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave.

The Rudd-Gillard Government work with states and territories to agree the first National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. The Labor Government sets up key organisations to support this: 1800RESPECT, Our Watch and ANROWS.

Labor establishes an Ambassador for Women and Girls in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Julia Gillard is the first woman Prime Minister.

2022: For the first time in Australian history, a majority woman government is elected federally.

In its first six months, the Albanese Government centres gender equality as a key economic issue at the Jobs and Skills Summit, expands paid parental leave, increases funding for childcare, makes gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act, introduces paid family and domestic violence leave, funds and legislates implementation of all 55 recommendations of the Respect@Work report, finalises the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children (supported by $1.7b in funding) and begins the reintroduction of Gender Responsive Budgeting. The Government also establishes a Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and begins work on a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality.

2023: In the first sitting week of 2023, Labor introduces legislation to publish gender pay gaps for businesses employing 100 people or more. 

Labor makes substantial investments in gender equality in its 2023-24 Budget, making the biggest single year investment in women in at least the last 40 years, including to extend access to Parenting Payment (Single), fund wage increases in female-dominated industries, end the punitive ParentsNext program and invest in women’s safety.

Labor also passes legislation to establish the Housing Australia Future Fund, which includes housing for older women and women and children escaping domestic violence.

2024: Early in 2024 the Government provides new tax cuts designed to reach a broader number of Australians, with every women tax payer receiving a tax cut.

On 27 February 2024, private sector employer pay gaps are published for the first time, allowing the public to look up the pay gaps and workplace gender equality policies of private sector employers will 100 or more employees.

On 7 March 2024, the Australian Government’s Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality was launched by the Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, outlining the Australian Government's vision for gender equality.

Alongside the announcement, the Albanese Labor Government announces that superannuation will now be paid on Paid Parental Leave.

By the beginning of April, all of Labor’s 22 Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics are operational, providing specialised support for women experiencing these conditions.

The majority woman Albanese Government continues its investments for women in Australia in the Budget, putting women and gender equality at the centre of Australia’s economic plan and making women’s lives safer, fairer and more equal. The 2024-25 Budget delivers investments across the Strategy’s five priority areas: gender-based violence; unpaid and paid care; economic equality and security; health; and leadership, representation and decision-making. 

In response to the unacceptable rates of violence against women that continue across Australia, the Albanese Government also takes a national leadership role and convenes two National Cabinet meetings on gender-based violence. The Commonwealth, states and territories agree to increased actions to address this violence, and the Commonwealth makes a range of investments – investing almost $1 billion in the new Leaving Violence Program following the first meeting, and providing $4.4 billion following the meeting in September, which includes ongoing funding in legal assistance, funding for initiatives to address high risk perpetrators and investments to support children.

Labor reforms HECS/HELP indexation and wipes $3 billion from student debts, with women holding the majority of HECS/HELP debts. Labor also introduced Commonwealth payments for unpaid practicums for nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work students.

Following Labor’s reforms the Fair Work Commission commenced a review of gender-based undervaluation in priority awards – the Government supports the review through its submission to the Commission.

In December 2024, the Government takes the next steps towards universal child care, announcing a three day child care guarantee and $1 billion to expand and build new child care centres.

By the end of 2024 there have been over 600,000 enrolments in Labor’s fee-free TAFE scheme with over half of these women – Labor commits to making free TAFE permanent.

2025: The Albanese Government continues its investments in women, announcing over three quarters of a billion for women’s health, to deliver more choice, lower costs and better health care for women.

This included funding to list new contraceptive pills on the PBS for the first time in 30 years, and list new menopause therapies for the first time in 20 years. The investment also improves access to long-term contraceptives and better support women experiencing menopause, including through funding 11 additional endometriosis clinics and expanding all 33 clinics to provide specialised menopause support. The investment builds on reforms the previous year to make medicine and visiting a doctor cheaper, including by introducing 60-day dispensing and through new MBS items that make it cheaper to see a GP or gynaecologist for longer, more complex appointments.

In the last sitting week of the term, the Government passes legislation introducing a workplace gender equality targets scheme for employers with 500 or more employees. This world first legislation will help bridge the action gap on effort to close the gender pay gap and provide accountability and transparency around employers’ workplace gender equality commitments.

As at 16 April 2025.