Australia

Julia Gillard has given her first known interview since losing the Labor leadership, in which she says she will be pursuing education and women's issues on the global stage.

Speaking to two representatives from Laureate International Universities in New York, including a student from Malaysia, Ms Gillard has said that she is looking forward to travelling and promoting causes overseas that she has been passionate about in Australia.

The latest round of national head-scratching about why there aren't more women in politics makes me want to poke out my own eyes with a rusty toasting fork.

In Australia, we congratulate Nova Peris on being the first indigenous female elected to the federal parliament and wish her success in her Senate journey ahead. Australia now has our first female Foreign Minister. Across the history of 28 Speakers, we now see the third woman appointed to this significant role.

We invite our users to read the full article published September 17 2013

Tony Abbott's cabinet in Canberra is running short on girl power, but it's the sisters who continue to run the show in the Mackay region.

With 18 blokes and only one woman, Mr Abbott's choice of LNP frontbenchers has been heavily criticised for a lack of female representatives.

Mackay Regional Council Mayor Deirdre Comerford said, regardless of the sex, time would be the only way to tell if Mr Abbott's choices were worthy.

Liberal senator Sue Boyce has criticised as ''shocking and embarrassing'' the appointment of only one woman to the new federal cabinet. Only foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop made it into the 19-member cabinet announced by prime minister-elect Tony Abbott on Monday.

Women in politics are treated differently. To be a good politician, you have to be capable of getting on with the job in the face of criticism. But I am deeply worried that the level of gender-based attacks female politicians have been subjected to in recent years sets the bar too high for women to want to participate in government.

We invite our users to read the full article published September 16 2013

Nova Peris has become the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Federal Parliament. The Olympic hockey gold medal winner will take a place in the Senate representing the Northern Territory for Labor. She gave her victory speech immediately after Luke Gosling conceded in the Darwin-based Lower House seat of Solomon.