The claim
The new Labor government has moved quickly to demonstrate its bona fides on an issue that for years dogged the Coalition: female representation in its senior ranks.
With the unveiling of his ministry on May 31, 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed to have appointed a record number of women to cabinet positions.
"This is the largest number of women who have ever served in an Australian cabinet, with 10 women in the cabinet," he said.
So, has Labor clinched the record? RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
The verdict
Mr Albanese's claim is correct.
The previous record was 8 women in cabinet, or 34.8 per cent of cabinet positions, achieved during the final term of Scott Morrison's Coalition government.
The first ministry of the Albanese Labor government includes 10 women in cabinet, taking their share of these senior positions to 43.5 per cent.
Increasing representation
From federation until the election of John Howard's Coalition government in 1996, there was never more than one woman in cabinet at a time.
The number of female cabinet members then ranged between one and three under Mr Howard, and from four to six under the Rudd-Gillard Labor government.
The peak during Malcolm Turnbull's Coalition government was also six, a number maintained as a minimum after Scott Morrison became prime minister in 2018.
Mr Morrison's history
Two months before the 2019 election Mr Morrison increased the number of women in cabinet to seven, and upon re-election claimed that his new ministry "maintains the record representation of women in cabinet for an Australian government".
Fact Check found that this claim checked out, both on the raw number and in proportional terms. His cabinet's seven women accounted for 30.4 per cent of 23 positions, just edging out the previous 30 per cent record under Kevin Rudd, when women held six of 20 positions.
Over the remainder of Mr Morrison's term, several ministerial reshuffles saw the number of women in cabinet fall then rise again.
A new peak was reached in July 2021 when Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, who had resigned from cabinet the previous year, rejoined her party's frontbench.
As Liberal MP Melissa Price had also recently returned to cabinet, that took the number of women in cabinet to eight, and the share of female membership to 34.8 per cent.
The rate dipped to 33.3 per cent with the expansion of cabinet to 24 members in October 2021.
So, did Labor break the record?
Mr Albanese claimed to have appointed "the largest number of women who have ever served in an Australian cabinet".
As the government's June 1 ministry list shows, 10 women were given cabinet positions, making up 43.5 per cent of the 23-person total.
Minister |
Portfolio(s) |
|---|---|
Katy Gallagher |
Finance; The Public Service; Women |
Linda Burney |
Indigenous Australians |
Penny Wong |
Foreign Affairs |
Tanya Plibersek |
Environment and Water |
Catherine King |
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government |
Michelle Rowland |
Communications |
Madeleine King |
Resources; Northern Australia |
Amanda Rishworth |
Social Services |
Julie Collins |
Housing; Homelessness; Small Business |
Clare O’Neil |
Home Affairs; Cyber Security |
On both measures, this surpassed the peak under the previous Coalition government and so set a new record for women in cabinet.
Mr Albanese also appointed an interim cabinet for the first 10 days of his government, in which women held 40 per cent of positions.
Principal researcher: David Campbell
