Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I'm hosting Sophie Bjorkman from Canberra Grammar School as part of the Girls Take Over Parliament program. Sophie is passionate about politics and encouraging more women to engage with politics in a meaningful way, an issue I'm passionate about also. Sophie and I have spoken today about what practical steps can be taken to increase the number of women in this place and, more broadly, at higher levels in workplaces across Australia, and she is concerned about the use of quotas to increase representation.

Sophie and I discussed the importance of equal opportunity and merit based selection, rather than using two different standards for evaluating men and women. Sophie believes that employers should use the same standards. As a young woman in her final year of school, Sophie believes quotas drive a greater divide between male and female candidates instead of promoting equality. This can also be applied to other areas, including education. We discussed a decision by the University of Technology Sydney to apply different ATAR requirements for men and women candidates. In Sophie's words, through equal opportunities and merit we are capable of achieving just as much as men.

Thank you to Sophie for joining my team today and for her passion for politics. I am pleased to have supported the Girls Takeover Parliament program today and hope many more young women join the political conversation in this place.

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