As women have become more visible in the Australian political sphere, the volume of writing about their lives, careers and experiences has also increased. This has brought to light certain challenges and shortcomings, as well as enduring discursive biases in the existing literature. Political history, for example, and especially political biography, has generally ‘privileged the political activities of men and masculine political institutions’, telling the stories of so-called Great Men while excluding those who do not traditionally belong to this cohort.
By: Blair Williams
Posted on 1 August 2021
Overview
As women have become more visible in the Australian political sphere, the volume of writing about their lives, careers and experiences has also increased. This has brought to light certain challenges and shortcomings, as well as enduring discursive biases in the existing literature. Political history, for example, and especially political biography, has generally ‘privileged the political activities of men and masculine political institutions’, telling the stories of so-called Great Men while excluding those who do not traditionally belong to this cohort.
In this research, we explore feminist approaches to political biography, and provide working definition of feminist political biography, proposing a list of ‘dos and don’ts’ for those political biographers who seek to develop a more inclusive model.
You may also like
04
Oct
Addressing barriers and forging pathways to women’s participation in politics
We collaborated with Women for Election (WFE) to explore what is preventing women and gender diverse Australians from greater participation in politics – particularly those from under-represented communities. We asked a group of of politically active women and non-binary people about the barriers, anticipated support they needed, and systemic changes they would like to see to consider engaging further in politics, including running for political office.
06
Sep
ANU and King's College London partner to advance gender equity
The Australian National University (ANU) will partner with King's College London to create an Asia-Pacific satellite of their Global Institute for Women's Leadership.
29
May
What is stopping politically engaged women from running for politics – and how can we fix it?
In March, we collaborated with Women for Election (WFE) on a new research survey to explore what is preventing women from greater participation in politics.