On 19 April 2023, 22 high school students from Victoria visited the ANU School of Politics & International Relations to learn more about gender and politics in Australia. The visit was part of the Victorian Premier’s Spirit of Democracy Study Tour which offers a week-long tour of Melbourne and Canberra where students have the opportunities to learn more about the role of democracy in Victoria and Australia.

Participating students from Years 9, 10, and 11 had to win an essay competition on democracy to be selected for the Tour. During their visit, students met with SPIR Senior Lecturer Dr Katrine Beauregard to discuss how democracy and Australia politics is gendered, but also how other social categories such as race, ethnicity, religion, ability, and sexual orientations shape politics.

Students also engaged in discussions about the causes and consequences of women’s and individuals with oversea non-European background’s underrepresentation in Australian politics and whether quotas can and should be used to address this underrepresentation.

For more information, please contact Dr Katrine Beauregard at katrine.beauregard@anu.edu.au