Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
Australia lags behind many countries in female representation at the highest level of government and commerce but we have come a long way from the days of my girlhood.
I would like to honour two outstanding women, from opposite sides of politics, who always do their country proud.
Feel free to add other examples from your own context.
#1. Penny Wong, Australian Senator and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senate Minority Leader).
Senator Wong is currently part of an Australian Parliamentary delegation to Samoa to assure the island nation of Australia's ongoing support. Penelope Ying-Yen "Penny" Wong is an example of Australia's successful multicultural policies of the past. She was born in Malaysia to an Australian mother and Malaysian father and received her education in Australia. Wong is the first Asian-born member of an Australian cabinet. On her feet in the Senate she never loses her cool and is devastating in debates because of her clear logic and her grasp of every issue.
She is the first female openly-LGBTI Australian federal parliamentarian and federal government cabinet minister, and supports marriage equality in Australia despite previously opposing it. She has a partner and together they are parents to two daughters, Alexandra and Hannah.
Wong is a practising Christian, attending Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide.
#2 Julie Bishop. Foreign Affairs Minister in the current Australian Government. Julie has served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party since 2007.
Julie grew up and was educated in Adelaide and later moved to Perth where she practised as a lawyer before entering politics as a moderate conservative. Julie Bishop married in 1983 and divorced in 1988. She has never remarried but is in a stable relationship with property developer.
In her political life she is scrupulously proper and has served in many different positions and portfolios over the years including Minister for Ageing, Minister for Education, Science and Training, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues, Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Employment, Business and Workplace Relations, Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shadow Minister for Trade, and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Julie Bishop is always impeccably groomed, even when out on one of her fitness runs, and she is privately and professionally a very disciplined person. As Foreign Affairs Minister she has proved to be a diplomatic asset to the nation. On the floor of the House she is another killer debater, cutting through nonsense with wit and logic.
Why have I written what amounts to a couple of glowing references for two politicians? In this age of cynicism we tend to criticise too much and praise too little. Seeing the photos of these two women on Twitter I thought this to be a good time to reverse the trend and express my pride in these women in power.
As I said earlier, feel free to add politicians worthy of your admiration to this thread. If you can avoid political partisanship so much the better. I would like to hear about female politicians but if you really want to praise a man, then why not?
I would like to honour two outstanding women, from opposite sides of politics, who always do their country proud.
Feel free to add other examples from your own context.
#1. Penny Wong, Australian Senator and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senate Minority Leader).
Senator Wong is currently part of an Australian Parliamentary delegation to Samoa to assure the island nation of Australia's ongoing support. Penelope Ying-Yen "Penny" Wong is an example of Australia's successful multicultural policies of the past. She was born in Malaysia to an Australian mother and Malaysian father and received her education in Australia. Wong is the first Asian-born member of an Australian cabinet. On her feet in the Senate she never loses her cool and is devastating in debates because of her clear logic and her grasp of every issue.
She is the first female openly-LGBTI Australian federal parliamentarian and federal government cabinet minister, and supports marriage equality in Australia despite previously opposing it. She has a partner and together they are parents to two daughters, Alexandra and Hannah.
Wong is a practising Christian, attending Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide.
#2 Julie Bishop. Foreign Affairs Minister in the current Australian Government. Julie has served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party since 2007.
Julie grew up and was educated in Adelaide and later moved to Perth where she practised as a lawyer before entering politics as a moderate conservative. Julie Bishop married in 1983 and divorced in 1988. She has never remarried but is in a stable relationship with property developer.
In her political life she is scrupulously proper and has served in many different positions and portfolios over the years including Minister for Ageing, Minister for Education, Science and Training, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues, Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Employment, Business and Workplace Relations, Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shadow Minister for Trade, and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Julie Bishop is always impeccably groomed, even when out on one of her fitness runs, and she is privately and professionally a very disciplined person. As Foreign Affairs Minister she has proved to be a diplomatic asset to the nation. On the floor of the House she is another killer debater, cutting through nonsense with wit and logic.
Why have I written what amounts to a couple of glowing references for two politicians? In this age of cynicism we tend to criticise too much and praise too little. Seeing the photos of these two women on Twitter I thought this to be a good time to reverse the trend and express my pride in these women in power.
As I said earlier, feel free to add politicians worthy of your admiration to this thread. If you can avoid political partisanship so much the better. I would like to hear about female politicians but if you really want to praise a man, then why not?
