Is 'quota' a dirty word?

How do we achieve gender equity in Australian business, government, and the media?

The Australian Federal Government cabinet currently boasts record female representation, with a grand total of seven women ministers in a cabinet of 23.

In business, women make up just 23 per cent of ASX200 executive leadership teams (compared to Scott Morrison’s record 30 per cent).

Australia is still 80 years away from female CEOs reaching equal representation with their male counterparts – predicted to occur by 2100 based on current growth patterns. This means that if you have children under the age of ten, you can expect their grandchildren to enter a workforce with equal men and women represented in the most senior leadership positions.

In Australian media, analysis by UTS academics released in a 2019 report showed that men dominate as quoted sources, and 70% of opinion columns on politics were penned by men.

In the words of the report’s co-author Jenna Price, “Our society is 50/50 but our public voices are 65-35.”

Are quotas the missing piece to solve this persistent disparity?


This event is held jointly by the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and UniBank.

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Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.