Liberal Leadership Divided Over Women’s Representation and Quotas

Sussan Ley’s leadership rival, Angus Taylor, has called for a “crusade” to increase women’s involvement in the Liberal Party but remains firmly opposed to implementing gender quotas.

The party is currently divided over whether to adopt a formal mechanism to boost female representation or to trust that organic growth will occur following a heavy election defeat that has left the ranks of women in the party even more lopsided.

There are now only six women among the 28 Liberals in the House of Representatives. Ms Ley has expressed a strong commitment to increasing that number and has vowed to be a “zealot” about it, though she has not committed to quotas.

Taylor, who leads the conservative faction of the party’s New South Wales branch, criticized quotas, arguing they “subvert democratic processes” within the party.

“I believe there are better ways to achieve this,” he said. “Mentoring, recruitment, and support are the ways to ensure we have talented people. We absolutely need more women at every level, whether it’s in our branches, on our executives, or as members of parliament. That’s a huge job for us.”

However, he reiterated his opposition to quotas, stating, “I have never been a supporter of them.”