The Federal election is looming, the time for the political parties to establish their gender equality policies has never been more important.

This has prompted the She Votes movement to improve gender equality in Australia through the power of democracy.

Established in 2021 by Louise Rose, She Votes is non-bipartisan initiative designed to:

• Generate conversation and increase knowledge around gender equality challenges in Australia
• Influence all political parties to make concrete promises to address gender equality as part of the Federal election campaign. The expectation is these promises need to have committed funding.
• Provide a space where all voters can view and compare political parties promises and funding related to gender equality

“I’ve always had a passion for equality, human rights and in particular, gender equality,” Louise said.

“The past 18 months have been tough for Australian women. I knew I wanted to do something about the lack of structural change and commitment we’re seeing from the political parties, and the idea for She Votes came to me.”

She Votes is pursuing a two-prong approach. Firstly, sharing information to educate the Australian public about the status of women in Australia generally and encouraging them to sign a petition to Australian politicians.

Secondly, focusing on the four main political parties, She Votes aims to provide transparency to Australians on what these parties are committing to do to improve gender equality at the next election.

With the goal of providing clear information about the parties’ gender policies, Louise hopes that She Votes can help voters determine which party’s policies align with their beliefs and the level of commitment of different parties.

“We’re not deciding for you who to vote for, we want Australians to be informed, and you select based on what is important to you,” Louise said.

The last two years have been particularly challenging for women in Australia, with startling statistics on the increase of domestic violence cases and economic disruption caused by the pandemic.

These are just two factors which has seen Australia’s fight for gender equality diminish.

“Australia is actually going backwards in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Index,” Louise said.

“In 2006, we were ranked 15 out of 150 countries. But in 2021, we’ve since slipped 35 places and are now ranked 50 out of 156 countries.”

Recognising many believe gender equality is a ‘woman’s issue’, Louise wants to stress the importance that women’s issues are everyone’s issues.

“If you have a mother, a sister or a friend who identifies as female, then ‘women’s issues’ are your issues. We need everyone’s voices give our nation better chance of achieving gender equality sooner.”

“The language politicians understand more than any other is votes. And we want them to know that we’ll be voting based on gender equality policies,” Louise concluded.

If you want to learn more about, She Votes and their goals for the next election, head to the website or sign the petition.

IMAGE | Louise Rose is leading the charge for clear and succinct gender policies from our political leaders