Without fuss or fanfare, Penny Wong pushed the glass ceiling a little higher this week
Australia’s longest serving female cabinet minister says while there has been progress on the number of women in senior positions, there is still a long way to go.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong passed the milestone on Wednesday, overtaking former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone as the longest serving woman to hold a cabinet position.
As Australia marked International Womenās Day, Senator Wong said there had been significant change to how women have been treated in politics since she first entered the Senate in 2002.
āItās shifted remarkably, actually ā¦ it does make a difference when you have this many women in a cabinet,ā she told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Friday.
āThere are many more women on both sides of politics, there are many more women in senior positions and I think that has changed things. Weāve still got some way to go, but itās certainly better than it was.ā
Senator Wong first served in cabinet as climate change minister and finance minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.
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She was appointed foreign minister in 2022 following Laborās election victory.
Senator Wong said she remained optimistic about the next generation of women wanting to enter politics.
āGirls these days and younger women these days have a sense of their right to aspire to whatever they wish to be and to do, and they are not willing to accept some of the barriers and prejudices,ā she said.
āYoung women are that empowered, and itās wonderful to see. I mean they are fearless.
āDoes the world enable that? Not as fully as we want, but I think weāre well down the path, and Iām very hopeful about the next generation of feminists and young women.ā
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