The Liberal Party has a patriarchy problem

The gender department of the liberal party reveals a deeper crisis in Australian democracy, Carl Rhodes.

The question of whether the Australian Liberal Party could adopt gender quotas to address the radical inadequate representation in the ranks of women is a story of the stubborn prevalence of Australian patriarchy.

The last part of this long-term epic began on June 25th when the newly appointed liberal opposition leader-and self-defined feminist – Sussan Ley– fair National Press Club.

Ley, who thought about how his party could be rebuilt after the sad loss in the federal elections of May, said that he was a “Zealot” to increase women’s representation in the party. He added that if gender quotas are used to do this, he would be happy.

Ley’s male colleagues did not share their efforts. Far away from him, they quickly entered to prevent any possibility of change. Men from the party, including former prime ministers, warmed under the collar and opposed any clues that women’s representation should be guaranteed.

Democracy or deviation?

Only two days after Ley Press Club addressLiberal minister Angus Taylor -The second one to Ley for Parti leadership-challenged the leader of the right leader.

Taylor demanded that his party would start a ‘Crusader campaign’ to attract more women at all levels from branches to the manager.

Despite a metaphorical religious call for women, he insisted that using quota to achieve gender balanced results is definitely out of the table.

HE claimed:

“I do not believe in destroying democratic processes.”

Impointing that Ley, the first female leader of the party, was willing to destroy democracy, it was a courageous beginning of the liberal party’s so -called war for women.

Other male conservative politicians, most importantly former prime ministers John Howard And Tony Abbottquickly Participated Opposite man-choir quotas.

Howard argued that political appointments should only be based on individual value.

He said:

“I don’t think I believe in quotas for anything. I think you should just decide on individuals.”

Apparently, overwhelming judgments that support men. In Howard’s final cabinet In 2007, only four of his 23 members were women as prime minister.

Abbott reiterated the thought, claiming that there were quotas. “Basically Illiberal”. Preferred “The merit principle that should be in the heart of our party”. This was the same principle that led to a twenty -member cabin with Julie Bishop, just a woman as a prime minister in 2013. And even his inclusion was not Abbott’s decision.

Bishop in question last year:

“I wasn’t appointed by Tony, I was there as a deputy elected leader, so they had no choice but to take me to the cabinet.”

There is nothing new to see here

Despite the speech of all this high -minded meritocracy, democracy and liberalism, the record of the liberal party shows that equality is never taken seriously. If, if any, the party failed in a miserable way – the so -called meritocratic and democratic processes gave unequal results in a grieving way.

Ten years ago, the liberals prepared a secret report on the sad records of women’s representation. Although it is never officially published, the report – Movement Oday: Women at the liberal party and leadership – A deep -regression of the party documented the chauvinist culture.

According to the report, the party actively silenced and scared and pushed as a male club operates. It lacked any commitment to the equality of opportunities or consequences. Worse, he worked actively to prevent women from being successful. This is not liberalism – institutionalized exclusion.

Ominous, report induced If the party did not address “Problem with women” By providing a 50-50 male and woman division in parliament, then “Existential challenge”. At that time, the House of Representatives had seventeen liberal female members. Only after this year’s elections six.

Just like today, the report argued that quotas were not answers. The male leadership of the liberal party mainly had enough time to implement valuable meritocratic ideals – but not explicitly elected.

A woman’s heritage

Movement Room Report Only Three Years later Prime Minister Julia GillardFamous women now speech On October 9, 2012 at Parliament. Gillard’s speech faced the opposition leader Tony Abbott’s shameless sexism.

This was the same Abbott photographed in 2011 address The crowd in the parliament building, the crowd in front of the banners “Leave the witch” And referenced To Gillard “Juliar… Bob Brown’s Bitch”. It was also Abbott record abortion one “Easy Output Way” For women.

Once controversial HE:

“… with physiology or temperament [men are] It was more adapted to exercise authority or command. “

When it is taken into consideration in a hundred value, this expression implies that we live in a meritocracy, only men are naturally more valuable. So do men dominate political leadership in the Liberal Party?

This is nonsense. Great writer as a moral justification for patriarchy.

Liberalism without pluralism

Abbott’s first trip as an anti-Quota defender was not in 2025. In 2017, when the Human Rights Commission suggested that the government should obtain more gender balance, answered Such an offer “Anti -“ And he agrees that this is “Politically correct garbage”.

If liberalism values freedom, equality and pluralism, then it is not.

Abbott’s embodied masculinity views seem to have been transferred to the new generation liberal party men. Leaked on July 4 message It strengthens how the statements of the WhatsApp group from a liberal party, political liberalism and democratic process, serve as a smoke curtain for a less delicious reality.

In these messages, the former president of the young liberals Alex Dore He claimed that the application of quota for women was similar to putting a labor trade unionist on the board of the liberal party.

Apparently, according to such men, women are not welcome in liberal power corridors. This is neither democratic nor liberal. His name has shown that it was lively and good in Australia for the last few weeks.

A national problem

The conservative male response to the quota call reveals the regressive patriarchy hiding behind a thin liberal discourse curtain. However, this is not just a matter for the liberal party, but a problem for the whole Australia.

Even if the liberals think about gender quotas, they are focusing on whether having more women in the office will help them. earning Elections. To reduce the value of gender equality to a selective tactic rather than recognizing it as a fundamental aspect of equal rights and justice, volumes.

Even if the liberals have adopted quota, Australia will still be fed in the highest -level policy of patriarchy that must have been behind for a long time.

As long as democracy stems from ideals of respect for freedom, equality, solidarity and differences, patriarchy has no legitimate place.

We can do better, Australia. Much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVJNGSQWDO

Carl Rhodes is a professor of business and community at Sydney Technology University. Five wrote book On the relationship between liberal democracy and contemporary capitalism. You can follow him on Twitter @Profcarlrhodes.

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