# Women in the Victorian Legislative Council

There have been 60 women in the Victorian Legislative Council since its establishment in 1856. Women have had the right to vote in Victoria, Australia since 1908 and the right to stand as a candidate for the Victorian Legislative Council since 1923. In the 2022 Victorian election, there were 22 women elected to the 40 member Legislative Council, forming a majority of the chamber for the first time.
The first successful female candidates for the Legislative Council were Gracia Baylor and Joan Coxsedge of the Liberal and Labor parties respectively, who were elected in 1979. Since then there have continuously been female members in the Council. The first National Party female member was Jeanette Powell, elected in 1996.

## List of women in the Victorian Legislative Council

Names in bold indicate women who have been appointed as Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries during their time in the Legislative Council. Names in italics indicate entry into Parliament through a by-election or by appointment and * symbolises members that have sat as members in both the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.
| # | Name | Party | Province/Region | Period of service |
| 1 | Gracia Baylor | Liberal | Boronia | 5 May 1979 – 1 March 1985 (resigned) |
| 1 | Joan Coxsedge | Labor | Melbourne West | 5 May 1979 – 3 October 1992 (retired) |
| 3 | Caroline Hogg | Labor | Melbourne North | 3 April 1982 – 18 September 1999 (retired) |
| 3 | Judith Dixon | Labor | Boronia | 3 April 1982 – 1 October 1988 (defeated) |
| 3 | Joan Kirner* | Labor | Melbourne West | 3 April 1982 – 1 October 1988 (transferred to LA) |
| 6 | Maureen Lyster | Labor | Chelsea | 2 March 1985 – 3 October 1992 (defeated) |
| 6 | Jean McLean | Labor | Boronia Melbourne West | 2 March 1985 – 2 October 1992 3 October 1992 – 18 September 1999 (retired) |
| 8 | Rosemary Varty | Liberal | Nunawading Silvan | 17 August 1985 – 2 October 1992 3 October 1992 – 18 September 1999 (retired) |
| 9 | Marie Tehan* | Liberal | Central Highlands | 21 March 1987 – 2 October 1992 (transferred to LA) |
| 10 | Licia Kokocinski | Labor | Melbourne West | 1 October 1988 – 30 March 1996 (retired) |
| 11 | Louise Asher* | Liberal | Monash | 3 October 1992 – 18 September 1999 (transferred to LA) |
| 11 | Sue Wilding | Liberal | Chelsea | 3 October 1992 – 18 September 1999 (defeated) |
| 13 | Monica Gould | Labor | Doutta Galla | 28 September 1993 – 24 November 2006 (retired) |
| 14 | Maree Luckins | Liberal | Waverley | 30 March 1996 – 30 November 2002 (ran for LA) |
| 14 | Jeanette Powell* | National | North Eastern | 30 March 1996 – 30 November 2002 (transferred to LA) |
| 14 | Wendy Smith | Liberal | Silvan | 30 March 1996 – 30 November 2002 (defeated) |
| 17 | Candy Broad | Labor | Melbourne North Northern Victoria | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 25 November 2006 – 9 May 2014 (resigned) |
| 17 | Elaine Carbines | Labor | Geelong | 18 September 1999 – November 2006 (defeated) |
| 17 | Andrea Coote | Liberal | Monash Southern Metropolitan | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 25 November 2006 – 29 November 2014 (retired) |
| 17 | Kaye Darveniza | Labor | Melbourne West Northern Victoria | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 25 November 2006 – 29 November 2014 (retired) |
| 17 | Dianne Hadden | Labor/Independent | Ballarat | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 (defeated) |
| 17 | Jenny Mikakos | Labor | Jika Jika Northern Metropolitan | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 25 November 2006 – 26 September 2020 (resigned) |
| 17 | Glenyys Romanes | Labor | Melbourne | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 (defeated) |
| 17 | Marsha Thomson* | Labor | Melbourne North | 18 September 1999 – 25 November 2006 (transferred to LA) |
| 25 | Lidia Argondizzo | Labor | Templestowe | 30 November 2002 – 25 November 2006 (defeated) |
| 25 | Helen Buckingham | Labor | Koonung | 30 November 2002 – 25 November 2006 (retired) |
| 25 | Carolyn Hirsh* | Labor/Independent | Silvan | 30 November 2002 – 25 November 2006 (retired) |
| 25 | Wendy Lovell | Liberal | North Eastern Northern Victoria | 30 November 2002 – 25 November 2006 25 November 2006 – |
| 29 | Colleen Hartland | Greens | Western Metropolitan | 25 November 2006 – 8 February 2018 (resigned) |
| 29 | Jan Kronberg | Liberal | Eastern Metropolitan | 25 November 2006 – 29 November 2014 (retired) |
| 29 | Sue Pennicuik | Greens | Southern Metropolitan | 25 November 2006 – 24 November 2018 (defeated) |
| 29 | Donna Petrovich | Liberal | Northern Victoria | 25 November 2006 – 1 July 2013 (resigned) |
| 29 | Inga Peulich* | Liberal | South Eastern Metropolitan | 25 November 2006 – 24 November 2018 (defeated) |
| 29 | Jaala Pulford | Labor | Western Victoria | 25 November 2006 – |
| 29 | Gayle Tierney | Labor | Western Victoria | 25 November 2006 – |
| 36 | Jennifer Huppert | Labor | Southern Metropolitan | 3 February 2009 – 27 November 2010 (defeated) |
| 37 | Georgie Crozier | Liberal | Southern Metropolitan | 27 November 2010 – |
| 38 | Amanda Millar | Liberal | Northern Victoria | 22 August 2013 – 29 November 2014 (defeated) |
| 39 | Marg Lewis | Labor | Northern Victoria | 11 June 2014 – 29 November 2014 (retired) |
| 40 | Rachel Carling-Jenkins | DLP/Conservatives/Independent | Western Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018 (ran for LA) |
| 40 | Samantha Dunn | Greens | Eastern Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018 (defeated) |
| 40 | Margaret Fitzherbert | Liberal | Southern Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018 (defeated) |
| 40 | Fiona Patten | Sex Party/Reason | Northern Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – |
| 40 | Harriet Shing | Labor | Eastern Victoria | 29 November 2014 – |
| 40 | Nina Springle | Greens | South Eastern Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018 (defeated) |
| 40 | Jaclyn Symes | Labor | Northern Victoria | 29 November 2014 – |
| 40 | Mary Wooldridge* | Liberal | Eastern Metropolitan | 29 November 2014 – 8 December 2019 (resigned) |
| 48 | Melina Bath | National | Eastern Victoria | 16 April 2015 – |
| 49 | Samantha Ratnam | Greens | Northern Metropolitan | 19 October 2017 – |
| 50 | Huong Truong | Greens | Western Metropolitan | 21 February 2018 – 24 November 2018 |
| 51 | Catherine Cumming | Justice | Western Metropolitan | 24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022 (defeated) |
| 51 | Jane Garrett* | Labor | Eastern Victoria | 24 November 2018 – 2 July 2022 (died) |
| 51 | Tania Maxwell | Justice | Northern Victoria | 24 November 2018 – |
| 51 | Bev McArthur | Liberal | Western Victoria | 24 November 2018 – |
| 51 | Ingrid Stitt | Labor | Western Metropolitan | 24 November 2018 – |
| 51 | Nina Taylor | Labor | Southern Metropolitan | 24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022 (transferred to LA) |
| 51 | Sonja Terpstra | Labor | Eastern Metropolitan | 24 November 2018 – |
| 51 | Kaushaliya Vaghela | Labor | Western Metropolitan | 24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022 (defeated) |
| 59 | Sheena Watt | Labor | Northern Metropolitan | 13 October 2020 – |
| 60 | Cathrine Burnett-Wake | Liberal | Eastern Victoria | 2 December 2021 – |

## Proportion of women in the Council

Numbers and proportions are as they were directly after the beginning of Council terms and do not take into account deaths, resignations, appointments, defections or other changes in membership.
| Term | Labor | Labor | Labor | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | National | National | National | Greens | Greens | Greens | Others | Others | Others | Total | Total | Total |
| Term | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % |
| 1979–1982 | 1 | 13 | 7.7% | 1 | 27 | 3.7% | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 44 | 4.5% |
| 1982–1985 | 4 | 19 | 21.1% | 1 | 21 | 4.8% | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 5 | 44 | 11.4% |
| 1985–1988 | 6 | 23 | 26.1% | 0 | 16 | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 6 | 44 | 13.6% |
| 1988–1992 | 5 | 19 | 26.3% | 2 | 19 | 10.5% | 0 | 6 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 7 | 44 | 15.9% |
| 1992–1996 | 3 | 14 | 21.4% | 3 | 24 | 12.5% | 0 | 6 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 6 | 44 | 13.6% |
| 1996–1999 | 3 | 10 | 30.0% | 6 | 28 | 21.4% | 1 | 6 | 16.7% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 9 | 44 | 20.5% |
| 1999–2002 | 8 | 14 | 57.1% | 3 | 24 | 12.5% | 1 | 6 | 16.7% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 12 | 44 | 27.3% |
| 2002–2006 | 11 | 25 | 44.0% | 2 | 14 | 14.3% | 0 | 5 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 13 | 44 | 29.6% |
| 2006–2010 | 5 | 19 | 26.3% | 5 | 15 | 33.3% | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 2 | 3 | 66.7% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 12 | 40 | 30.0% |
| 2010–2014 | 5 | 16 | 31.2% | 6 | 18 | 33.3% | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 2 | 3 | 66.7% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 13 | 40 | 32.5% |
| 2014–2018 | 5 | 14 | 35.7% | 5 | 14 | 35.7% | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 4 | 5 | 80.0% | 2 | 5 | 40.0% | 16 | 40 | 40.0% |
| 2018–2022 | 10 | 18 | 55.6% | 4 | 10 | 40.0% | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 3 | 10 | 30.0% | 19 | 40 | 47.5% |
| 2022– | 8 | 15 | 53.3% | 6 | 12 | 50.0% | 2 | 2 | 100.0% | 3 | 4 | 75.0% | 3 | 7 | 42.9% | 22 | 40 | 55.0% |