Women’s Electoral Lobby scorecard show women which party is best for them

Women have demanded a fair go for years. Now Australia’s top women’s group has checked the major parties’ policies – see which one makes women’s lives better.

A ‘form guide’ for how women should vote in this Saturday’s election has been released by an influential campaign group.

The Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) – which has been helping women decide which way to vote for 50 years – analysed the policies of the Liberals, Labor and the Greens and found that no party got full marks, but some did better than others.

WEL National Convener Jozefa Sobski said the Liberals had little or no policies in many areas that really mattered to women such as housing, safe and secure workplaces, adequate incomes and early childhood education and care.

Jozefa Sobski from the Women’s Electoral Lobby. (AAP IMAGE / Flavio Brancaleone)

Out of 12 areas WEL considered priorities for make women’s lives better and fairer, the Liberal Party received no ticks to show it was fully committed, but had significant policies in two areas.

“We are pleased to see the Liberal Party has a better showing in relation to eliminating violence and achieving some gender equity in vocational education and training,” Ms Sobski said.

“Labor’s strong performance in nine of the 12 policy areas is encouraging,” Ms Sobski said.

“Labor’s full commitment to strengthening women’s representation and providing safe and equitable workplaces shows it has taken on women’s concerns so forcefully advocated by the March4Justice movement in 2021 and earlier.”

However, the group found that Labor, as well as the Coalition, had not pledged enough for those on the poverty line.

Shadow Minister for Women, Tanya Plibersek and Liberal’s Minister for Women Marise Payne.

WEL also found that while the Greens scored highly and had some excellent policies in areas crucial to women’s equality, it had not produced specific policies in areas such as first nations women and girls, managing pandemic impacts on women and managing climate and environmental crisis for women.

WEL campaign manager Bronwyn McDonald said party commitments on issues such as pandemic management, violence and sexual assault, housing and income security could “literally change women’s lives”.

“Acting on issues like eliminating violence, access to reproductive healthcare or addressing women’s poverty can even be a matter of life and death and this goes for anywhere in Australia,” she said.

Bronwyn McDonald from the Women's Electoral Lobby. Picture: Supplied.

“This scorecard is a tool for all women to help them make an informed decision.”

The Liberals said the number of females in work had hit a record high under its leadership and was now at 62 per cent and the gender pay gap was now at 13.8 per cent, down from 17.4 per cent under the previous Labor government.

The 2022-23 budget included $1.3 billion to drive change for women’s safety, and additional funding to increase women’s workforce participation, support women in leadership, and improve health outcomes for women and girls in Australia.

Shadow Minister for Women, Tanya Plibersek said Australian women don’t want special treatment, “they just want an equal go”.

The Women's Electoral Lobby 2022 election scorecard.

She said Mr Albanese’s party was committed to improving the lives of Australian women by easing cost of living pressures, tackling domestic violence and sexual assault, taking action to stop sexual harassment at work, addressing housing accessibility and affordability, as well as delivering fair wages, cheaper child care, and more social and emergency housing.

To see the full policy breakdown go to wel.org.au.

Originally published as Women’s Electoral Lobby scorecard show women which party is best for them