Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Gender and sexuality in Australian politics
power of a narrow white male elite and continue[s] the oppression of the majority
of women, Indigenous peoples and those from non-white backgrounds’. 43
Over the last few decades, feminist studies have explored possibilities for
relational, non-hierarchical models of leadership and organisational management. 44
At the same time, feminist studies of leadership are bringing to light women leaders
in a variety of domains, including those usually overlooked as sites of leadership,
such as environmental movements, 45 disability advocacy, 46 and children’s media. 47
While ‘post-heroic’ ideas about leadership have become more popular in corporate
life, in practice, ‘rewards and promotions [continue] to flow to those demonstrating
traditionally “masculine” leadership traits’. 48
Recently, scholars have also begun to ask how sexuality and bodies (intertwined
with gender) interact with concepts of leadership. 49 This scholarship has identified
the association of leadership with a particular form of masculine heterosexuality
and the censoring of women’s sexuality by dominant models of leadership. 50
Institutions
Institutions are not just organisations with names and legal structures; they also
operate as ‘formal and informal collections of interrelated norms, rules and routines,
understandings and frames of meaning that define “appropriate” action and roles and
acceptable behaviour of their members’. 51 These norms, rules and routines have strong
gender and sexuality dimensions and are often based on masculine expectations and
practices, with major impacts on outcomes, including government policies. 52
In studies of women in New South Wales and Victorian politics, political
institutions (especially parliaments) have been found to be actively hostile to
women. Furthermore, they are venues in which feminist norms such as consultation
and consideration of emotions and the bonds of dependence are often
derided. 53 Challengestothesegenderednormshavecomeinmanyforms,suchas
breastfeeding in the chamber, which has led to changes to rules against ‘strangers’
being allowed onto the chamber floor. 54 Challenges over the working hours and
scheduling of parliaments are another arena in which there have been attempts to
43 Sinclair 2014, 28.
44 Sawer and Andrew 2014.
45 Elix and Lambert 2014.
46 Henningham 2014.
47 Tomsic 2014.
48 Sawer and Andrew 2014, 296.
49 Bell and Sinclair 2016.
50 Sinclair 1995.
51 Mackay, Munro and Waylen 2009, 255.
52 Brennan and Chappell 2006, 3.
53 Brennan and Chappell 2006; Grey 2009.
54 Grey 2009.
361