Merit or misogyny: women in Australian politics

This essay analyses the masculine nature of Australian politics, in particular looking at the under representation of women within the Liberal and Labor parties. The debate between the establishment of quotas for female candidates or the selection of candidates on the basis of merit and what exactly defines merit will be examined. The essay will investigate how merit is in fact a gendered term by looking at the leadership spill within the Liberal Party in August 2018 which saw Scott Morrison emerge as leader triumphing over Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop. The gendered nature of merit will be explored by looking at the leadership ballot and why Julie Bishop received just 11 votes despite outperforming her opponents in recent polling and having a superior resume, allegations of bullying by a number of female Liberal Members of Parliament will also be examined. The works of a number of feminist theorists will be drawn upon throughout the analysis, in particular the work of Catharine MacKinnon in Towards a Feminist Theory of the State.