Women in Australia


Women in Australia refers to women's demographic and cultural presence in Australia. Historically, a masculine bias has dominated Australian culture.

History

Late 18th-century colonisation

Early colonial administrations were anxious to address the gender imbalance in the population brought about by the importation of large numbers of convict men. The first attempt to redress this balance was in 1777, with the voyage of the Lady Juliana, a chartered ship to carry only female convicts to NSW, but which became notorious on the trip and was nicknamed "the floating brothel" Between 1788 and 1792, around 3546 male to 766 female convicts were landed at Sydney. Women came to play an important role in education and welfare during colonial times. Governor Macquarie's wife, Elizabeth Macquarie took an interest in convict women's welfare. Her contemporary Elizabeth Macarthur was noted for her 'feminine strength' in assisting the establishment of the Australian merino wool industry during her husband John Macarthur's enforced absence from the colony following the Rum Rebellion.
The Catholic Sisters of Charity arrived in 1838 and set about providing pastoral care in a women's prison, visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. They established hospitals in four of the eastern states, beginning with St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in 1857 as a free hospital for all people, but especially for the poor. Caroline Chisholm established a migrant women's shelter and worked for women's welfare in the colonies in the 1840s. Her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony. Sydney's first Catholic bishop, John Bede Polding founded an Australian order of nuns—the Sisters of the Good Samaritan—in 1857 to work in education and social work. The Sisters of St Joseph were founded in South Australia by Saint Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods in 1867. MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia and established schools, convents and charitable institutions. She was canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010, becoming the first Australian to be so honoured by the Catholic Church. was a leading advocate for women's issues and family friendly colonial policy.

Late 19th-century suffrage

Australia had led the world in bringing women's suffrage rights during the late 19th century. Propertied women in the colony of South Australia were granted the vote in local elections in 1861. Henrietta Dugdale formed the first Australian women's suffrage society in Melbourne in 1884. Women became eligible to vote for the Parliament of South Australia in 1895. This was the first legislation in the world permitting women also to stand for election to political office and, in 1897, Catherine Helen Spence became the first female political candidate for political office, unsuccessfully standing for election as a delegate to the Federal Convention on Australian Federation. Western Australia granted voting rights to qualified non-aboriginal women in 1899.

1901-1945

Women energetically participated in the war effort, with few signs of defeatism or resistance to government policies. In 1922, the Country Women's Association was formed with the intention to improve the lives of women in rural Australia. It has since expanded to become the largest women's organisation in the country.

Since 1945

In 1974, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration granted women the full adult wage. However, resistance to women being employed in certain industries remained until well into the 1970s. Because of obstruction from elements of the Unions movement, it would take until 1975 for women to be admitted as drivers on Melbourne's trams, and Sir Reginald Ansett refused to allow women to train as pilots as late as 1979. In 1984, the Sex Discrimination Act became enforced, making sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment illegal. Criminalization of marital rape in Australia began with the state of New South Wales in 1981, followed by all other states from 1985 to 1992.

Analytical writings

Until the 1960s, the Australian national character was typically masculine. Only in more recent decades has attention been paid to the role and marginal status of women and minority groups. One of the earliest studies on the role of women in Australian culture was conducted by Miriam Dixson in her 1975 study, The Real Matilda. Dixson concluded that there was deep contempt for women in the Australian ethos and that the only role for women was within the family.
Marilyn Lake argues that the first stage of women's history in the 1970s demonstrated an angry tone, with a revolutionary critique that reflected its close connections with the women's liberation movement. By the late 20th century, women's history was less strident and more thoroughly integrated into social history and labour history. In the 21st century, the emphasis has turned to a broader horizon of "gender relations", which includes such concepts as femininity and masculinity.

Reproductive rights and health

in Australia is governed by state law rather than on federal law. Abortion was illegal under all circumstances until the 1969 case R v Davidson. In this case, Justice Clifford Menhennitt ruled abortion could be considered legal if the physical and/or mental health or the life of the woman was endangered. The ruling was adopted in principle in New South Wales and Queensland in 1971 and 1984 respectively. As of 2019, Abortion is legal on demand in all Australian states and territories except for South Australia. It is estimated that a quarter to a third of Australian women will have an abortion in their lifetime, and it has strong popular support.
According to a 2017 study, abortions in Australia have an average cost of $560 after receiving the Medicare rebate, with some women also incurring extra costs from travel, accommodation, GP referrals, lost wages, childcare and medical tests. 34% of women surveyed reported they found payment for abortions difficult or very difficult. The maternal mortality rate in Australia is 5.5 deaths/100,000 live births as of 2015.
Australia, as of 2014, had a total fertility rate of 1.8 babies born/woman, reflecting a sub-replacement fertility rate; the replacement rate is 2.1 children born/woman. This TFR has a recorded low of 1.74 in 2001, and a record high of 3.55 in 1961. The TFA has been below the replacement level since 1976.

Women in politics

Despite being given the right to stand for federal election in 1902, women were not present for the first 20 years of Australian politics until the 1921 election of Edith Cowan to the West Australian Legislative Assembly, and were not represented federally until the 1943 federal election when Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively. Lyons would go on to become the first woman to hold a Cabinet position in Robert Menzies' 1949 ministry. Women would not go on to lead a state or territory until Rosemary Follett was elected Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory in 1989. Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was appointed in 2010.
Since the 1970s, women have received increasing representation in the parliament. Despite examples such as in 2010 females holding every position above them in Sydney, they still remain a minority in parliament, and as of 2016 only number 32%, an increase of 1% from the previous election.

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