Remember that March is: Australian Women’s History Month!
Women’s History Month (WHM) is held annually in many parts of the world to acknowledge and document the role women play in making and shaping history. To visit the site to view the history timelines and gallery click here.
Some of the key events in Australian Women’s history include:
* 16 December 1903 – First Australian women stand for federal parliament elections Vida Goldstein, Nellie Martel, and Mary Ann Moore Bentley stand for the Senate, and Selina Siggins for the seat of Dalley in the House of Representatives.
*12 March 1921 – First woman elected to an Australian parliament Edith Cowan (Nationalist, West Perth) became the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament. She served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly until 22 March 1924.
* 19 June 1969 – Equal Pay After decades of campaigning, Australian women workers win equal pay rates with men doing comparable work under an Arbitration Commission decision for incremental increases, with pay parity eventually achieved in 1972.