Pathways to Politics Knowledge Hub

Find practical tools, information and inspiration to help you run for public office.

Training   Campaigning  

Get Elected by Ruth McGowan

Ruth McGowan holding her book Get Elected outside Parliament House in Canberra

Disillusioned with politicians and frustrated with politics in general? Stop complaining. Be the change you wish to see. Run for office and Get Elected!

Ruth McGowan OAM has worked as a consultant and adviser to councils, peak bodies in local government and community leaders since 2012. She is a former Mayor of Baw Baw Shire Council and an alum of the University of Melbourne’s Pathways to Politics Program for Women.

Get Elected is Ruth’s step-by-step campaign guide to winning public office: local, state, and federal. Written primarily for women, Ruth wants to see gender parity in Australian councils, state and territory parliaments and federal politics. Get Elected explains how women candidates and their supporters can plan and deliver a winning campaign.

With more than 7,400 opportunities across Australia to run for office, Ruth challenges the reader to stop waiting for politicians to act on the things they care about and instead, become one!

Nominated for the Essential Reading List for 2019 by The Australia Institute and more than 3000 copies sold, making it a best seller for self-published books.

Our sincere thanks to Ruth for making her book available to download for free via the Pathways to Politics website. You can purchase Get Elected in hardcopy and download more of Ruth’s campaign tips on her website.

Get Elected! Tips from Ruth McGowan

Download Get Elected

Before you download, we’d love to get your contact details so that Pathways to Politics, our program partners and the author can contact you about relevant news, content or events. You can unsubscribe from our communications at any time. Please see our Privacy policy for further information.

Explore the Knowledge Hub:

  • All

  • Medium

  • Theme

  • Reset filters

Related Knowledge Hub content

Group of young people holding up a large fabric sign reading "Run for it: young people fixing our democracy" against a bright yellow background
Campaigning   Local government   Training   Youth  

Run For It

Run For It supports young people (under 35) to run strategic and strong campaigns to get elected to local councils across Australia.

Access Toolkit
Photo of Gabrielle upton in a navy blazer and pink blouse. She has long fair hair and glasses. Behind her is a blue background and image eof the NSW parliament building.
Interview   Training   NSW  

Supporting new female MPs to thrive: A conversation with the Hon Gabrielle Upton

Pathways to Politics speaks to former NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton about her time in the NSW Parliament and insights from her recent study tour researching women’s experiences of politics across the UK, USA and Canada.

Watch Video
Photo of a small group of women inside the NSW parliament chamber, Australian and Aboriginal flags in the background
Training   NSW  

“On the record” – building know-how for new women MPs

The Hon. Gabrielle Upton proposes a practical induction program for new women MPs to better equip them for their role.

Read Report

Can you spare 1 minute to give us feedback on the Pathways Knowledge Hub?

Help us enhance your experience and improve our content for all visitors.

Take me to the survey!
Founding Partners
Women's Leadership Institute Australia
Trawalla Foundation
University of Melbourne

University Partners
University of Melbourne
QUT
UNSW
Charles Darwin University

University of Canberra
The University of Adelaide
University of Tasmania
The University of Western Australia