成人大片

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Sussan Ley, deputy leader of the Liberal Party and shadow minister for women, has been given a difficult task: bring women voters back to the Liberal Party. This will be no mean feat, given they played a significant role in the Morrison government鈥檚 defeat.

Ley has women that 鈥渨e hear you鈥�. She has also promised to travel widely throughout Australia to listen to women.

Ley is a very appropriate choice for the task. She was shadow minister for women in 2007-8. She was also the responsible minister for women in the House of Representatives in the last government, given that the minister for women, Marise Payne, was in the Senate.

Ley identifies as a . She has long argued the Liberals should seriously consider candidate quotas for women 鈥� a position that Liberal leader Peter Dutton .

Ley is not a conventional Liberal woman politician. Born in Nigeria, she lived part of her in the Middle East, where her father worked for British intelligence. After the family migrated to Australia, she in her youth. Ley also added an extra 鈥渟鈥� to her first name after in numerology.

to work as an air traffic controller, aerial stock musterer, shearer鈥檚 cook, farmer and for the Australian Tax Office. She holds a bachelor of economics, master of taxation law and master of accounting. She also holds a commercial pilot licence.

Ley has her unconventional childhood not only facilitated her diverse career choices but also

helped me accept a lot of differences in people and cultures, and I think it鈥檚 also helped me become less stressed than I might otherwise be about things when they鈥檙e completely outside the square.

She may well need that capacity and flexibility when it comes to understanding the nature of the 鈥渨oman problem鈥� the Liberals face.

There are parts of the Liberals鈥� 鈥渨oman problem鈥� that Ley will understand. Unlike , she would not need Jenny Morrison鈥檚 advice on how to respond to a woman who alleged they had been raped in Parliament House. Unlike Morrison, she is not influenced by the US anti-transgender strategies that underlay his electorally disastrous endorsement of Warringah candidate Katherine Deves.

However, unfortunately for Ley, the Liberals鈥� 鈥渨oman problem鈥� has deeper roots than those more obvious manifestations. It also has roots in the contemporary Liberals鈥� economic ideology, particularly their embrace of free markets and reluctance for governments to intervene in the economy.

As I demonstrated in an published earlier this year, the party鈥檚 鈥渨oman problem鈥� is not due to the Liberals being hostile to gender equality. Recent Coalition governments have introduced some worthwhile gender equality measures, including in the area of domestic violence. The problem is in economic frameworks that limited their gender equality policy.

Liberals tend to believe the market is gender-neutral and could be relied on to improve women鈥檚 equality. Making the case that gender equality was good for business was seen as the key to ensuring better pay and conditions for women workers.

Consequently, the Morrison government rejected more interventionist equal pay measures such as those introduced by the previous Labor government. Policies targeted at key female-dominated industries were not introduced in the government鈥檚 pandemic budget measures because of beliefs the market would soon ensure women鈥檚 employment recovered.

Similarly, the large number of women in precarious work because this wasn鈥檛 seen as a result of structural disadvantage in the labour market. Rather, it was argued many women choose to work in casual jobs. Implementing the Respect at Work report that employers have a 鈥減ositive duty鈥� to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment was seen as an unnecessary intervention by government in the private sector.

No wonder many feminists the government for having inadequate policies in regard to women.

Ley was among those who failed to understand the basis of criticisms being made. For example, Labor politicians complained the Morrison government hadn鈥檛 adequately supported female workers during the pandemic, including those in the childcare industry. Ley :

What you hear from the opposition is this long, ongoing, bleak, dreary narrative about entrenched disadvantage. And, you know, it鈥檚 just so last century.

She went on to highlight 鈥渢he opportunities for women in the modern world鈥� and the increased choices they would have.

Ley鈥檚 dismissal of the 鈥渆ntrenched disadvantage鈥� of many women less fortunate than herself is definitely premature. The Australian government鈥檚 own Workplace Gender Equality Agency provides copious on women鈥檚 continued unequal position.

Importantly, it wasn鈥檛 just Labor or the Greens that argued the Morrison government鈥檚 policies were inadequate in regard to women 鈥� so did the who defeated prominent Liberal politicians.

For example, Monique Ryan, who defeated Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, implementing all the Respect at Work recommendations. So did , who defeated Tim Wilson, and , who defeated Dave Sharma. All three emphasised the importance of ensuring equal pay for women.

Ryan reforming the Fair Work Act to include an equal remuneration objective and stronger gender pay gap reporting provisions. The Liberals had opposed both measures.

The teals鈥� support for such measures owes more to than neoliberalism. Social liberalism allows for a more active ethical role for government in furthering equal opportunity, while still supporting a strong private sector. Neoliberalism advocates restricting government intervention, particularly in the economy.

Social liberalism played an important role in the development of the Liberal Party. However, its influence has been sidelined as the party has become more conservative. So the teals held great appeal for moderate who felt the party had lost its way.

Ley seems as to why so many women considered the Morrison鈥檚 government鈥檚 gender equality policies to be insufficient. The question is whether she can think sufficiently outside of the neoliberal square to hear what they are saying.