Getting pragmatic: women’s electoral lobby on the continuum of radicalism

Abstract

The history of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) is distinguished by its extensive involvement in electoral politics and public policy. This paper traces WEL's development as part of the broader women's movement, considers its engagement with government and situates it in relation to Australian and international political traditions. It describes WEL's distinctive style of political engagement, through its candidate surveys for the 1972 federal election to the online party scorecards of the 2000s, and the more than 900 policy submissions along the way. Personal connections via the ‘femocrats’ and feminist members of parliament strengthened WEL's policy influence and helped it realise (at least for a time) the goal of a feminist policy machinery across the whole of government at both commonwealth and state/territory levels. WEL has also been part of a broader women's movement, generating tensions as well as inspiration and support. With characteristic pragmatism, WEL members made sense of their place in the movement by working for the ‘preconditions of revolution’ from the reformist end of a ‘continuum of radicalism’. They were aiming to broaden the impact of feminism by making gender equality part of the core business of government. This is a project that was undermined by major changes in political conditions, but which WEL continues to pursue through its particular focus on policy analysis and advocacy.