Research policy brief - Women candidates running in unwinnable seats in the 2022 federal election

As major political parties make up the vast majority of MPs in the House of Representatives, increasing the number of female candidates they put forward at each election is important in ensuring our Parliament represents the diversity of the community. What is equally important, is making sure that these female candidates are running in seats they can reasonably be expected to win.

The Glass Cliff is a phenomenon whereby women achieve success and attain leadership positions in times of crisis or where their position is precarious –that is, women are allowed to step in when men aren’t interested. While political parties are publicising their efforts to increase the number of women candidates they put forward, we need to look at whether these candidates are simply stepping into seats that males aren’t interested in, or if they will genuinely increase the diversity of our Parliament.

This policy brief has been updated with a high level post-election analysis of how candidates performed in the major parties, with further analysis still underway.