Women and Proportional Representation in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract This article examines the recent impact of proportional representation on women's parliamentary presence in four Australasian political systems: New Zealand, the Australian Senate, the lower house in the state of Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) Legislative Assembly. The question asked is: Why have women not achieved an equal presence in these parliaments, given the presence of proportional electoral systems? While it is evident that there is now a critical mass of women standing as candidates in all four constituencies, in only four of the 12 elections reviewed here, has the proportion of women elected reflected the proportion of women candidates. Moreover, women have yet to constitute more than 35 percent elected to these legislatures. Overall, the representation of women in these four systems seems to have stagnated, suggesting that proportional representation should be seen as only part of the solution to the under-representation of women.