Aspiring Labor women face stand-over tactics, threats and intimidation
when they dare to seek office against factionally-backed male
candidates, a damning ­report prepared for the ALP’s Emily’s List has
found.

Despite hailing the success of the party through Labor’s affirmative
action rule – a quota of 40 per cent of women for winnable seats rising
to 50 per cent in 2025 – the report says male-dominated factional
culture within the ALP is pushing women away from advancement.

It also includes horror stories from women who have sought preselection
against favoured male candidates only to be warned off, told it is not
their turn, in some cases being directly heavied by factional leaders
and their allies who have threatened to end their careers.

In one case a woman who had sought preselection revealed that her
parents had been phoned and then approached in person by factional
players demanding they talk her out of running against a preferred male
candidate.

The findings are contained in a major report by Australian ­National
University PhD candidate Medha Majumdar, who is the 2020-2021 Julia
Gillard Next Generation Intern working for Emily’s List, the
ALP-aligned group that champions affirmative action and women’s rights
within the party.

While its findings are levelled at all the major political parties and
based on interviews with dozens of women from across politics, the
report also focuses on the experience of Labor women who have been
blocked in preselection battles.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/alp-women-told-wait-your-turn/news-story/bd1290f60e3af19ec81eba143fb14282