Women’s representation in politics continues to improve, but is the same being said about their treatment? CityMag listened to four of South Australia’s most high-profile politicians talk about their experiences and what they would like to do differently.

Penny Wong, Vickie Chapman, Sarah Hanson-Young and Natasha Stott Despoja have many differences. They have been active in different political parties, have very different views and their own reasons for entering politics. What do they have in common? During their political careers, they have all been subject to scrutiny and judgement based not on their politics but on their gender.

What else do they have in common? They all came together at Adelaide University’s Women in the House event this week to reflect not just on their own experiences, but on the experiences of all women, as South Australia celebrates 130 years of women’s suffrage.

In 1894, South Australia became the first electoral district – not only in Australia but in the world – to grant women equal political rights, allowing women not only to vote but also to stand for parliament.

However, it was not until 1955 that South Australia first saw a woman in federal parliament, when Nancy Buttfield was appointed to the Senate. In 1959, Jessie Cooper became the first woman elected to the South Australian Legislative Council, and in the same year, Joyce Steele became the first woman elected to the South Australian House of Assembly.

“It is very important that we remember where we came from and all the brave women who have gone before us,” says Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

“It’s important to remember this, partly as an act of respect, but it’s also important to remember it because it reminds us of what change requires. Change requires much more than just efficiency. It requires courage, and it requires us to change the hearts and minds of people who disagree with us.”

It’s not just South Australia’s first female politicians who are inspiring future leaders. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has spoken not only of Natasha and Penny as women she’s seen in parliament, but also of another unexpected inspiration.

“I probably have to thank John Howard for my political career because he gave me a huge motivation,” says Sarah.

“It was clear to me that in the John Howard era, if young women wanted to be more actively involved in the issues that affected us, then I knew that we really needed more women there.”

Panelists shared reflections on the approaches they have taken throughout their careers when faced with misogyny, both in the media and in Parliament.

Penny Wong has spoken about Julia Gillard’s time in office and what she wishes they had done differently. Photo: Supplied

Pity about our only female prime minister

Penny Wong, who was originally appointed to the Senate from the Labor Party in 2001, discussed not only her own experiences but also those of Julia Gillard during her time as the first and only female Prime Minister of Australia.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about Julia’s time as prime minister, and whatever people’s views on what she did, or her policies, etc., I think that regardless of that, there’s no denying that the way she was treated was unacceptable to anyone and was driven by an acceptance of quite misogynistic behaviour.”

Penny said she spoke to Julia at the time and the decision was made not to address the misogynistic comments that continued to emerge.

“I think now that we should have emphasized it more, just tried to accept it. Because it was awful,” she says.

“I found it really interesting that when I first got into politics, the most hate I got was for being Asian. But around the time Julia was prime minister, that changed to being a woman.”

Addressing public comments about the prime minister, Hanson-Young, who became the youngest woman elected to federal parliament in 2008, said there had been conflicting ideas about how to respond.

“There was a bit of a battle between do we not want to acknowledge that this is happening? Do we acknowledge it or do we fuel it? Do we allow the first female prime minister to just get on with her job?

“I started at the beginning (of my political career) thinking, ‘don’t pay attention to it, block it out, just ignore it, it will pass and it will pass.’ But tyrants don’t do that. Tyrants bully and intimidate because they want a reaction.

“I got to the point where it silenced me. I pretended so much that it wasn’t happening, that it was all around me, people didn’t know how to talk about it because they didn’t see me talking about it.

“I had to break my silence so I could get my agency back. And I think, looking back, we should have done that for Julia Gillard.”

Julia Gillard was Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She remains the only woman to have served in that role. Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch

“It was fucking annoying”: Calling out bad behavior

Vickie Chapman, the first female president of the Liberal Party of South Australia and the first female Deputy Premier and Attorney-General of that state, entered politics after a career in law.

“When I first came to parliament, they would make some joke about what you were wearing or something else, with the intention of humiliating you. And I found that unusual because I had spent 20 years in courtrooms where we are trained to debate a case, not to play the man himself,” she said.

“We (women in parliament) were subjected to trivial comments and it was incredibly irritating. Now the expectation is that if you make a clever comment, you will be punished for it, you will have to apologise and the matter will be dealt with.

“The negative side is the explosion of social media. So instead of being in Parliament or even in front of a television camera, it’s often written anonymously, and it’s shameful, and it’s insightful, and it’s persistent.”

Former senator and current commissioner of the Royal Commission into Domestic and Sexual Violence, Natasha Stott-Despoja, became the youngest woman elected to Federal Parliament in 1996 at the age of 26, a position she held until Sarah was appointed.

Natasha said she had been assertive in calling out problematic behaviour during her time in Canberra.

“Even as a relatively new member of parliament, I did that, but I was a quick learner. One senator would call me a ‘princess’ or ‘precious princess’ when I called out bad behaviour. Or, of course, ‘humorless feminist’, that was something I would often hear. I thought I was quite funny, but I wasn’t.”

Natasha says she sees the younger generation approaching such behaviour with much less tolerance.

“I think it’s a new generation, younger women, but also men and non-binary Australians who are saying, ‘You know what? I’m not going to tolerate this.’ So I think we’ve seen this wonderful change.

“It shouldn’t just be up to humorless feminists like me. It needs to be up to everyone.”

Coming from different areas of politics, the four women shared common experiences as women in the public eye. Photo: provided

From Breaking Barriers to Being Left Behind

Reflecting on 130 years of women’s suffrage, the panel discussed how South Australia went from leading the way to falling behind, remaining the only state in the country yet to elect a female prime minister.

“Henry Fuller, the former mayor at the time women got the vote, said he didn’t want women to get the vote because it would give them half the seats in the House of Assembly and Mary Lee, our famous, wonderful suffragette, would be prime minister,” says Natasha.

“And you know what? It didn’t happen, and it still hasn’t happened.

“There are traditional barriers: the way we are portrayed, the double standards we are subjected to, the reality of having to combine domestic and unpaid caring roles with the opportunity to run for office.

“But change has happened. Things can happen, something can be a great catalyst for change, but in most cases it requires eternal vigilance.

“When it comes to women’s representation in public, private and elsewhere, constant vigilance is needed because the rejection of power and patriarchy is very real.”

Although the panel spent just an hour sharing the challenges they faced throughout their political careers, members agreed on the importance of women not only in politics but also the diversity of parliaments as a whole.

“We need to reflect and represent this diversity and difference,” says Natasha.

“Even if you feel like politics has let you down, don’t give up on it.”