Lisa Darmanin (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an honour to speak about the incredible work of EMILY's List Australia today, our country's only financial, political and personal support network for progressive Labor women in politics. I want to acknowledge the CEO, who is in the gallery today. Since its first candidates stood in 1997 to 1998, EMILY's List has supported over 600 progressive Labor women. More than 300 of them have gone on to be elected to state and federal parliaments. This is an extraordinary achievement.

At the heart of this work, though, is mentoring. Every EMILY's List endorsed candidate is matched with a mentor—a former MP, a unionist, a community based campaigner—someone who knows the road and walks beside them every step of the way. This kind of personal, practical and political support creates lifelong bonds between women leaders across generations and geographies. It has been a privilege to be a mentor myself. I want to acknowledge one of those mentors, Leonie Morgan, who is also in the gallery—a longtime friend of mine whose mentorship I have had the benefit of. Her guidance, experience and unwavering commitment have made a difference to countless campaigns and candidates.

Today we are seeing the results of decades of work by women just like Leonie, Pam and others. A record-breaking 49.1 per cent of our federal parliamentarians are women. Women now make up 56 per cent of the Labor Party room. For the first time in Australian history, there are more women than men in the federal cabinet—12 women and 11 men. Here in the Senate, 65 per cent of Labor senators are women. We know that diverse, equitable leadership doesn't just happen; it takes organising, mentoring and backing each other in. That is the mission of EMILY's List, and it is working.