Labor women outnumber men in the caucus. Why are they overlooked as Albanese’s potential successor?

In the conversation of who is in line to be Labor’s next leader after Anthony Albanese, Tayna Plibersek hardly registers, nor do any other women. Composite: AAP/Getty/Guardian Design

On Thursday, Kate Ellis was elevated to become Labor’s national president, leading for the first time an all-female team at the top of the party’s organisational wing, with two female vice-presidents.

The former Rudd and Gillard government minister joins the Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary, Sally McManus, and its president, Michele O’Neil, as some of the most powerful members of the labour movement.