MEDIA RELEASE 12 February 2025
Pathways to Politics for Women celebrated its 10-year anniversary – having equipped more than 600 diverse women across Australia with the skills and experience to run for political office – at a function in Victoria’s Government House last night.
Ahead of an eventful year of federal and state elections, 150 alums of the foundation Victorian program joined in the celebration, many of whom are now parliamentarians and local councillors across the political spectrum.
Four alumni took part in a panel discussion moderated by University of Melbourne Program Director and National Co-Convenor Dr Meredith Martin, reflecting on how the program has shaped their political journeys: Cr Elisha Lee, City of Monash; Dr Sarah Mansfield MP, Greens Member for Western Victoria and Deputy Leader of the Greens in Victoria; Dr Katie Allen, Liberal Candidate for Chisolm and former member for Higgins; Jenna Davey-Burns, former Independent Mayor of Kingston.
Pathways to Politics for Women is a national, non-partisan initiative that works to increase female representation in Australian politics by equipping women from diverse backgrounds with the skills, networks and confidence to pursue political leadership at all levels of government.
In the years following the first successful program in 2016, founding partners the University of Melbourne, Trawalla Foundation and Women’s Leadership Institute Australia worked with leading universities in every state and territory to expand the program’s reach to diverse women across the country, tailored to each local context. The program became fully national in 2024.
There are more than 600 alums nationally, and over one third have run for pre-selection or political office. 84 electoral successes have been achieved – across the political spectrum and at all levels of government – including two alums currently serving in the Federal Parliament and seven alums serving in the Victorian Parliament across five political parties.
Last year alone, 120 alums ran in state, territory and local elections across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and the ACT, with 49 successfully elected, equating to a 41 per cent success rate.
Last night’s event was hosted by Victorian Governor Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC at Government House, serving as a graduation of the 2024 cohort as well as a celebration of the program’s significant achievements over the last decade.
Program founder Carol Schwartz AO said:
“I established Pathways to Politics for Women in 2015 in partnership with the University of Melbourne because I felt a sense of outrage that our parliaments and councils had such gender imbalance.”
“I am so proud of the successes of our alum community and the sustained impact of the program over the past decade – it is literally changing the face of Australian politics.”
Dr Meredith Martin said:
“Through this program we have made considerable strides in strengthening female representation in Australian politics by equipping women from diverse political, cultural and professional backgrounds with skills and opportunities to take their place at decision-making tables.
While there’s more work to do to achieve true gender equality, we remain committed to strengthening the now national program, and empowering more diverse women to step into political leadership.”
Women account for 45 per cent of overall positions in Australian federal, state and territory parliaments and in Victoria, 43 per cent of local councillors are female.
In the House of Representatives, 39 per cent of MPs are female, and out of those women, 36 are Labor representatives, 9 are Liberal, 2 are Nationals, 9 are Independent and 2 others are from the Greens and Centre Alliance.
Dr Martin said:
“The upcoming federal election presents an opportunity to boost these numbers, with 10 Pathways to Politics alumni already announcing their candidacies across the political spectrum, with more to follow. It’s also inspiring to see six participants from our inaugural WA program last year running in next month’s WA state election – fittingly, on International Women’s Day.”
Applications for the 2025 program open nationally on 6 March 2025.
Media enquiries: Mia Tyquin | +61 403 671 863 | mia.tyquin@unimelb.edu.au
