Feminism in Australia

Australia has a long-standing association with the protection and creation of women's rights. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote (after New Zealand in 1893) and the first to give women the right to be elected to a national parliament. The Australian state of South Australia, then a British colony, was the first parliament in the world to grant women full suffrage rights. Australia has since had multiple notable women serving in public office as well as other fields. Women in Australia with the notable exception of Indigenous women, were granted the right to vote and to be elected at federal elections in 1902.

Australia is also home to several prominent feminist activists and writers, including Germaine Greer, author of The Female Eunuch; Julia Gillard, former prime minister; Vida Goldstein, the first woman to stand for parliament in the British Empire; and Edith Cowan, the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament. Feminist action seeking equal opportunity in employment has resulted in partially successful legislation. Laws against sex discrimination exist and women's units in government departments have been established. Australian feminists have fought for and won the right to federally funded child care and women's refuges. The success gained by feminists entering the Australian public service and changing policy led to the descriptive term 'femocrats'.

Cultural theory

The predominate critical theory of feminism in Australia is that male dominance of business, politics, law and the media has resulted in gender inequality. Feminism research has expanded the scope of political science in Australia to include issues related to femininity, motherhood and violence against women.

Joanna Murray-Smith, a Melbourne-based newspaper columnist claimed in a 2004 column that 'feminism had failed us'. Virginia Haussegger has also criticised feminism for promising she 'could have it all'. Miranda Devine and Cathy Sherry have consistently argued that feminism has been a mistake and failed to liberate.

Notable Australian feminists

Australia has and has had several notable feminist authors, academics and activists whose work has been recognised internationally. Perhaps most widely recognised is Germaine Greer, whose book The Female Eunuch was held in high acclaim after its publication. The book's content was considered highly radical at the time of its publication in 1970, with Greer recommending female practices like tasting their own menstrual blood.

From June 2010 to June 2013, Australia was led by its first female prime minister, Julia Gillard. Gillard is perhaps best known, internationally, for the Misogyny Speech delivered in the Australian Federal Parliament on 9 October 2012 to then Federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott.

Australia has had several feminist organisations during its history, many of which helped the push for basic women's rights like granting of full suffrage, financial independence from husbands, access to abortions, and equal pay. Other high-profile Australian feminists include Eva Cox and Jocelynne Scutt.

1800 to 1920

The women of Queensland were granted the right to vote in 1905.

The first examples of Australian feminism occurred during the mid 1800s to 1900. The early movement mostly concerned the applications of basic human rights to women, including the right to vote, the right to stand for parliamentary election, and protection from sexual exploitation. Mary Lee, an Australian-Irish woman, was influential in garnering support for many women's rights movements in Australia. From 1883 onwards, Lee was involved in the raising of the Age of Consent for girls in Australia from 13 to 16, the founding of The Working Women's Trades Union, and co-founded the South Australian Women's Suffragette League, which led to the granting of suffrage rights to women in South Australia. In the early 1900s the Australian Labor Party displayed reluctance toward women and their entrance to the parliament. During World War I, women were introduced into the workforce at higher rates than previous years, although often in fields already populated by women.

1920 to 1970

Edith Cowan, the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament in 1920, is depicted on the back of the Australian fifty-dollar note. In August 1943, Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney became the first two women to elected to the federal parliament. Between the World Wars, the Country Women's Association was founded in New South Wales and Queensland, spreading throughout the rest of Australia over the following 14 years. An overarching, national group was formed in 1945. The popular magazine, the Women's Weekly, created for a female market by Frank Packer, was also founded during this period. However, from its first edition in 1933, the magazine was edited by men until Ita Buttrose was appointed in 1975.

During World War II, Australia, like other Allied countries, encouraged the introduction of women into the workforce, replacing many male workers who had joined the military e.g. Australian Women's Land Army. The second-wave of Feminism in Australia began during the 1960s with the confrontation of legal and social double standards as well as workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. Equally, feminists worldwide began a push for female sexual freedom. Germaine Greer rose to international prominence during the later part of this period, with the publication and widespread adoption of, her ideas in her book, The Female Eunuch in 1970. At the time of the book's publication, Greer was considered a radical feminist, with her ideas and claims at times described as "polemic".

During this period Aboriginal Women's rights also became more prominent, with Fay Gale earning her Ph.D from the University of Adelaide in 1960. Her thesis was titled "A Study of Assimilation: Part Aborigines in South Australia". Other notable female Indigenous Australians during this period include Lyndall Ryan and Aileen Moreton-Robinson. This contributed to the rise in Indigenous feminism in Australia.

1970 to 2000

Percentage of females employed

As the feminist movement led to the organisation of British, Canadian and American feminists in the late 1960s, so too did Australian women move to address oppressive social conditions. The social base of the Australian feminist movement was boosted by the growing segment of women employed as juniors in the 1970s. Feminist authors have been credited with stimulating the movement at the time. By the early 1970s the feminist movement in Australia was divided. On one side was the Women's Liberation Movement which leaned left and believed men did not have a role in women's liberation. The other side was represented by the Women's Electoral Lobby which was considered more mainstream and sought to engage change within existing structures.

Australia's first woman Premier was Carmen Lawrence, becoming Premier of Western Australia in 1990. The short-lived Australian Women's Party sought to ensure equal representation of men and women at all levels of government. Quentin Bryce was the first woman to hold the position of Governor-General of Australia between September 2008 and March 2014.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard gained international attention and praise in 2012 for an off-the-cuff speech in the Australian federal parliament directed at then Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. The speech, known as The Misogyny Speech has been uploaded to YouTube multiple times, with several thousand views each. The speech was also discussed internationally across media, with the feminist blog, Jezebel, calling Ms. Gillard "one badass motherf**ker". Other world leaders were also said to have offered praise in public and private conversations with Ms. Gillard.

Former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has frequently been accused of sexism and misogyny. In David Marr's article in the Australian "Quarterly Essay", titled Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott, Marr describes several alleged incidents occurring of which Abbott committed or was involved with, that were highly offensive and sexual in nature towards women.

2000 onwards

In 2017 Muslim activist, Yassmin Abdel-Magied said on ABC Q&A women are treated well in Islam, with Islam being, "the most feminist" of all religions. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was highly critical of those assertions about Islam.

In February 2017, in response to a question regarding the meaning of Quran Chapter 4, Surah 34, Keysar Trad president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said a husband can beat his wife, but only as "a last resort". Abbott also was highly critical of Trad, for saying beating a wife is permissible.

Chris Kenny, writing in The Australian says there is a "deafening and damaging silence" from feminists in the face of issues related to Muslim practices.

Support groups and societies for women and rights

Australia has and has had a wide array of supporting groups and agencies that have been funded by governments, public donations, and members. These groups include:

• Australian Women's Health Network
• Country Women's Association
• Emily's List (Australian Labor Party organisation for the equalising of women in politics, started by Joan Kirner)
• National Council of Jewish Women of Australia founded in 1923.
• National Council of Women of Australia – founded 1888, affiliated with the International Council of Women
• Queen Victoria Women's Centre Trust
• Women's Electoral Lobby
• Women's Forum Australia
• The Working Women's Trades Union
• South Australian Women's Suffragette League
• Queensland Women's Electoral League
• Australian Women's Party

See also

• Australian feminist art timeline
• Islam in Australia, womens rights
• Women's suffrage in Australia
• Women and government in Australia

External links

Media related to Feminism in Australia at Wikimedia Commons