Women in the Australian Senate

There have been 110 women in the Australian Senate since the establishment of the Parliament of Australia. Women have had the right to stand for federal parliament since 1902, and there were three female candidates for the Senate at the 1903 federal election (Vida Goldstein, Nellie Martel, and Mary Moore-Bentley). However, it was not until Dorothy Tangney's victory at the 1943 federal election that a woman was elected. Since then, all states and territories have had multiple female senators – in chronological order: Western Australia (1943), Queensland (1947), Victoria (1950), South Australia (1955), Tasmania (1975), the Australian Capital Territory (1975), New South Wales (1987), and the Northern Territory (1998).

History

The passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act allowed women to both vote and stand for election to the Parliament of Australia.[1][2] Numerous women stood unsuccessfully as independents or as representatives of minor parties for election to the Senate, including prominent South Australian suffragist Vida Goldstein, who ran in 1903, 1910 and 1917. However, women were not successful in entering federal politics until World War II. The major parties did not endorse any female candidates for the Senate before the War.

The first woman to be elected to the Senate was Labor representative Dorothy Tangney in 1943; she represented Western Australia. Following Tangney's entry into politics, the Senate has continuously had women members. (By contrast, although the first woman member of the House of Representatives, Dame Enid Lyons, was also elected in 1943, that house has had women members continuously only since 1980.)

The second woman elected to the Senate, Annabelle Rankin, also achieved a number of firsts for women: she was the first female Whip, and she was the first woman with a federal portfolio when she became Minister for Housing in 1966. In 1975, Margaret Guilfoyle became the first female cabinet minister with a portfolio. In 1996 Margaret Reid was the first woman elected as President of the Senate.

Women in the Senate have made significant changes to Australian law which have benefited women. For example, a private member's bill written by Senator Susan Ryan was crucial to the development of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, the Public Service Reform Act 1984 and the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987.

With the appointment of Sarah Henderson to the Senate on 11 September 2019, the number of women in the chamber was equal to the number of men for the first time in history.[3]

List of women in the Australian Senate

Names in bold type indicate Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries. Names in italics indicate appointments made under section 15 of the Constitution, or through disqualification. Names marked with an asterisk (*) also served in the House of Representatives. Where no closing date is shown, the Senator's term of service is unexpired.

#	Name	Party	State	Period of service
1	(Dame) Dorothy Tangney	Labor	WA	21 August 1943 – 30 June 1968 (defeated)
2	(Dame) Annabelle Rankin	Liberal	Qld	1 July 1947 – 24 April 1971 (resigned)
3	Agnes Robertson	Liberal / Country	WA	22 February 1950 – 30 June 1962 (retired)
	(Dame) Ivy Wedgwood	Liberal	Vic	22 February 1950 – 30 June 1971 (retired)
5	(Dame) Nancy Buttfield	Liberal	SA	11 October 1955 – 30 June 1965 (defeated) 1 July 1968 – 11 April 1974 (retired)
6	Marie Breen	Liberal	Vic	1 July 1962 – 30 June 1968 (retired)
7	(Dame) Margaret Guilfoyle	Liberal	Vic	1 July 1971 – 5 June 1987 (retired)
8	Ruth Coleman	Labor	WA	18 May 1974 – 5 June 1987 (retired)
	Jean Melzer	Labor	Vic	18 May 1974 – 30 June 1981 (defeated)
	Kathy Sullivan*	Liberal	Qld	18 May 1974 – 5 November 1984 (resigned)
11	Susan Ryan	Labor	ACT	13 December 1975 – 29 January 1988 (resigned)
	Shirley Walters	Liberal	Tas	13 December 1975 – 30 June 1993 (retired)
13	Janine Haines	Democrats	SA	14 December 1977 – 30 June 1978 (retired) 1 July 1981 – 1 March 1990 (resigned)
14	Jean Hearn	Labor	Tas	15 October 1980 – 30 June 1985 (retired)
15	Florence Bjelke-Petersen	NCP / National	Qld	12 March 1981 – 30 June 1993 (retired)
16	Margaret Reid	Liberal	ACT	5 May 1981 – 14 February 2003 (resigned)
17	Patricia Giles	Labor	WA	1 July 1981 – 30 June 1993 (retired)
18	Rosemary Crowley	Labor	SA	5 March 1983 – 30 June 2002 (retired)
	Margaret Reynolds	Labor	Qld	5 March 1983 – 30 June 1999 (retired)
	Olive Zakharov	Labor	Vic	5 March 1983 – 6 March 1995 (died)
21	Sue Knowles	Liberal	WA	1 December 1984 – 30 June 2005 (retired)
	Amanda Vanstone	Liberal	SA	1 December 1984 – 26 April 2007 (resigned)
23	Jo Vallentine	NDP / Ind. / Greens WA	WA	1 July 1985 – 31 January 1992 (resigned)
24	Jocelyn Newman	Liberal	Tas	13 March 1986 – 1 February 2002 (resigned)
25	Janet Powell	Democrats / Ind.	Vic	26 August 1986 – 30 June 1993 (defeated)
26	Sue West	Labor	NSW	11 February 1987 – 5 June 1987 (defeated) 1 July 1990 – 30 June 2002 (retired)
27	Bronwyn Bishop*	Liberal	NSW	11 July 1987 – 24 February 1994 (resigned)
	Jean Jenkins	Democrats	WA	11 July 1987 – 30 June 1990 (defeated)
	Kay Patterson	Liberal	Vic	11 July 1987 – 30 June 2008 (retired)
30	Irina Dunn	NDP / Ind.	NSW	21 July 1988 – 30 June 1990 (defeated)
31	Meg Lees	Democrats / APA	SA	4 April 1990 – 30 June 2005 (defeated)
32	Vicki Bourne	Democrats	NSW	1 July 1990 – 30 June 2002 (defeated)
	Cheryl Kernot*	Democrats	Qld	1 July 1990 – 15 October 1997 (resigned)
34	Karin Sowada	Democrats	NSW	29 August 1991 – 30 June 1993 (defeated)
35	Christabel Chamarette	Greens WA	WA	12 March 1992 – 30 June 1996 (defeated)
36	Dee Margetts	Greens WA	WA	1 July 1993 – 30 June 1999 (defeated)
	Judith Troeth	Liberal	Vic	1 July 1993 – 30 June 2011 (retired)
38	Kay Denman	Labor	Tas	24 August 1993 – 30 June 2005 (retired)
39	Belinda Neal*	Labor	NSW	8 March 1994 – 3 September 1998 (resigned)
40	Jacinta Collins	Labor	Vic	3 May 1995 – 30 June 2005 (defeated) 8 May 2008 – 15 February 2019 (resigned)
41	Natasha Stott Despoja	Democrats	SA	29 November 1995 – 30 June 2008 (retired)
42	Kate Lundy	Labor	ACT	2 March 1996 – 24 March 2015 (resigned)
43	Sue Mackay	Labor	Tas	8 March 1996 – 27 June 2005 (resigned)
44	Lyn Allison	Democrats	Vic	1 July 1996 – 30 June 2008 (defeated)
	Helen Coonan	Liberal	NSW	1 July 1996 – 22 August 2011 (resigned)
	Jeannie Ferris	Liberal	SA	1 July 1996 – 2 April 2007 (died)
	Brenda Gibbs	Labor	Qld	1 July 1996 – 30 June 2002 (defeated)
48	Marise Payne	Liberal	NSW	9 April 1997 –
49	Karen Synon	Liberal	Vic	13 May 1997 – 30 June 1999 (defeated)
50	Trish Crossin	Labor	NT	16 June 1998 – 6 September 2013 (retired)
51	Jan McLucas	Labor	Qld	1 July 1999 – 9 May 2016 (retired)
52	Linda Kirk	Labor	SA	1 July 2002 – 30 June 2008 (retired)
	Claire Moore	Labor	Qld	1 July 2002 – 30 June 2019 (retired)
	Kerry Nettle	Greens	NSW	1 July 2002 – 30 June 2008 (defeated)
	Ursula Stephens	Labor	NSW	1 July 2002 – 30 June 2014 (defeated)
	Ruth Webber	Labor	WA	1 July 2002 – 30 June 2008 (defeated)
	Penny Wong	Labor	SA	1 July 2002 –
58	Concetta Fierravanti-Wells	Liberal	NSW	5 May 2005 –
59	Judith Adams	Liberal	WA	1 July 2005 – 31 March 2012 (died)
	Annette Hurley	Labor	SA	1 July 2005 – 30 June 2011 (retired)
	Anne McEwen	Labor	SA	1 July 2005 – 2 July 2016 (defeated)
	Christine Milne	Greens	Tas	1 July 2005 – 10 August 2015 (resigned)
	Fiona Nash	National	NSW	1 July 2005 – 27 October 2017 (election voided)
	Helen Polley	Labor	Tas.	1 July 2005 –
	Rachel Siewert	Greens	WA	1 July 2005 –
	Dana Wortley	Labor	SA	1 July 2005 – 30 June 2011 (defeated)
67	Carol Brown	Labor	Tas.	25 August 2005 –
68	Sue Boyce	Liberal	Qld	19 April 2007 – 30 June 2014 (retired)
69	Mary Jo Fisher	Liberal	SA	6 June 2007 – 14 August 2012 (resigned)
70	Catryna Bilyk	Labor	Tas.	1 July 2008 –
	Michaelia Cash	Liberal	WA	1 July 2008 –
	Sarah Hanson-Young	Greens	SA	1 July 2008 –
	Helen Kroger	Liberal	Vic.	1 July 2008 – 30 June 2014 (defeated)
	Louise Pratt	Labor	WA	1 July 2008 – 30 June 2014 (defeated) 2 July 2016 –
75	Bridget McKenzie	National	Vic.	1 July 2011 –
	Lee Rhiannon	Greens	NSW	1 July 2011 – 15 August 2018 (resigned)
	Lisa Singh	Labor	Tas.	1 July 2011 – 30 June 2019 (defeated)
	Anne Urquhart	Labor	Tas.	1 July 2011 –
	Larissa Waters	Greens	Qld	1 July 2011 – 18 July 2017 (resigned) 6 September 2018 –
	Penny Wright	Greens	SA	1 July 2011 – 9 September 2015 (resigned)
81	Lin Thorp	Labor	Tas	20 June 2012 – 30 June 2014 (defeated)
82	Anne Ruston	Liberal	SA	5 September 2012 –
83	Sue Lines	Labor	WA	15 May 2013 –
84	Nova Peris	Labor	NT	7 September 2013 – 9 May 2016 (retired)
85	Deborah O'Neill*	Labor	NSW	13 November 2013 –
86	Jacqui Lambie	PUP / Ind. / JLN	Tas	1 July 2014 – 14 November 2017 (resigned) 1 July 2019 –
	Linda Reynolds	Liberal	WA	1 July 2014 –
	Janet Rice	Greens	Vic	1 July 2014 –
89	Katy Gallagher	Labor	ACT	26 March 2015 – 9 May 2018 (resigned) 18 May 2019 –
90	Jenny McAllister	Labor	NSW	6 May 2015 –
91	Joanna Lindgren	Liberal (LNP)	Qld	21 May 2015 – 2 July 2016 (defeated)
92	Pauline Hanson*	One Nation	Qld	2 July 2016 –
	Jane Hume	Liberal	Vic.	2 July 2016 –
	Skye Kakoschke-Moore	NXT	SA	2 July 2016 – 22 November 2017 (resigned)
	Malarndirri McCarthy	Labor	NT	2 July 2016 –
96	Kimberley Kitching	Labor	Vic	25 October 2016 –
97	Lucy Gichuhi	Family First/Ind./Liberal	SA	19 April 2017 – 30 June 2019 (defeated)
98	Kristina Keneally	Labor	NSW	14 February 2018 –
99	Amanda Stoker	Liberal (LNP)	Qld	21 March 2018 –
100	Mehreen Faruqi	Greens	NSW	15 August 2018 –
101	Wendy Askew	Liberal	Tas	6 March 2019 –
102	Sam McMahon	National (CLP)	NT	18 May 2019 –
103	Claire Chandler	Liberal	Tas	1 July 2019 –
	Perin Davey	National	NSW	1 July 2019 –
	Nita Green	Labor	Qld	1 July 2019 –
	Hollie Hughes	Liberal	NSW	1 July 2019 –
	Susan McDonald	National (LNP)	Qld	1 July 2019 –
	Marielle Smith	Labor	SA	1 July 2019 –
	Jess Walsh	Labor	Vic	1 July 2019 –
110	Sarah Henderson*	Liberal	Vic	11 September 2019 –

Timeline

Proportion of women in the Senate

Numbers and proportions are as they were directly after the beginning of Senate terms and do not take into account deaths, resignations, appointments, defections or other changes in membership. As senators typically serve six-year terms, in the absence of a double dissolution, the numbers of female senators overlap two “terms”. State-based Coalition parties that caucus with one of the major parties (Liberal National Party, Country Liberal Party) have been included in the Liberals' or Nationals' totals.

Term	Labor			Liberal			National			Democrats			Greens			Others			Total
	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%	Women	Total	%
1944–1947	1	22	4.5%	0	12	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	1	36	2.8%
1947–1950	1	33	3.0%	1	2	50.0%	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	2	36	5.6%
1950–1951	1	34	2.9%	3	21	14.3%	0	5	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	4	60	6.7%
1951–1953	1	28	3.6%	3	26	11.5%	0	6	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	4	60	6.7%
1953–1956	1	29	3.4%	3	26	11.5%	0	5	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	4	60	6.7%
1956–1959	1	28	3.6%	3	24	12.5%	1	6	16.7%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	5	60	8.3%
1959–1962	1	26	3.8%	3	25	12.0%	1	7	14.3%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	5	60	8.3%
1962–1965	1	28	3.6%	4	24	16.7%	0	6	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	5	60	8.3%
1965–1968	1	27	3.7%	3	23	13.0%	0	7	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	3	0.0%	4	60	6.7%
1968–1971	0	27	0.0%	3	21	14.2%	0	7	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	5	0.0%	3	60	5.0%
1971–1974	0	26	0.0%	2	21	9.5%	0	5	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	8	0.0%	2	60	3.3%
1974–1975	2	29	6.9%	2	23	8.7%	0	6	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	4	60	6.7%
1975–1978	3	27	11.1%	3	27	11.1%	0	8	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	6	64	9.4%
1978–1981	3	27	11.1%	3	28	10.7%	0	6	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	1	0.0%	6	64	9.4%
1981–1983	4	27	14.8%	4	28	14.3%	1	3	33.3%	1	5	20.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	1	0.0%	10	64	15.6%
1983–1984	7	30	23.3%	4	24	16.7%	1	4	25.0%	1	5	20.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	1	0.0%	13	64	20.3%
1984–1987	6	34	17.6%	5	28	17.9%	1	5	20.0%	1	7	14.3%	0	0	0.0%	1	2	50.0%	14	76	18.4%
1987–1990	5	32	15.6%	7	24	29.2%	1	5	20.0%	3	7	42.9%	0	0	0.0%	1	3	33.3%	17	76	22.4%
1990–1993	5	32	15.6%	7	29	24.1%	1	5	20.0%	4	8	50.0%	1	1	100.0%	0	1	0.0%	18	76	23.7%
1993–1996	4	30	13.3%	7	30	23.3%	0	6	0.0%	3	7	42.9%	2	2	100.0%	0	1	0.0%	16	76	21.1%
1996–1999	9	29	31.0%	8	32	25.0%	0	5	0.0%	5	7	71.4%	1	2	50.0%	0	1	0.0%	23	76	30.3%
1999–2002	9	29	31.0%	9	32	28.1%	0	3	0.0%	4	9	44.4%	0	1	0.0%	0	2	0.0%	22	76	28.9%
2002–2005	10	28	35.7%	8	31	25.8%	0	4	0.0%	4	8	50.0%	1	2	50.0%	0	3	0.0%	23	76	30.3%
2005–2008	12	28	42.9%	8	33	24.2%	1	6	16.7%	2	4	50.0%	3	4	75.0%	0	1	0.0%	26	76	34.2%
2008–2011	14	32	43.8%	9	32	28.1%	1	5	20.0%	0	0	0.0%	3	5	60.0%	0	2	0.0%	27	76	35.5%
2011–2014	14	31	45.2%	8	28	28.6%	2	6	33.3%	0	0	0.0%	6	9	66.7%	0	2	0.0%	30	76	39.5%
2014–2016	14	25	56.0%	5	27	18.5%	2	6	33.3%	0	0	0.0%	7	10	70.0%	1	8	12.5%	29	76	38.2%
2016–2019	14	26	53.8%	6	24	25.0%	2	6	33.3%	0	0	0.0%	5	9	55.6%	3	11	27.3%	30	76	39.5%
2019–	16	26	61.5%	10	30	33.3%	4	5	80.0%	0	0	0.0%	5	9	55.6%	2	6	33.3%	37	76	48.7%

See also

• Women and government in Australia
• Women in the Australian House of Representatives

Notes

1. Women in South and Western Australia voted in the 1901 election.
   
2. Indigenous Australian women did not achieve federal franchise in all jurisdictions until 1962, and were not required by law to enrol to vote until 1983.
3. Macmillan, Jade (10 September 2019). "Gender equality set to be achieved in the Senate for the first time". ABC News. Retrieved 14 September 2019.

References

• "Women in the 45th Parliament". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017.
• "Senate Brief No. 3". Parliament of Australia. November 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017.