There have been 60 women in the New South Wales Legislative Council since its establishment in 1856. Women have had the right to stand as a candidate since 1918; the Council introduced direct election in 1978.
The first women appointed to the Legislative Council were Catherine Green and Ellen Webster in 1931, both appointed directly by the premier, Jack Lang. Green departed in 1932; after Webster's departure in 1934 women were absent from the Council until 1952, when Gertrude Melville became the first woman elected by the New South Wales Parliament to serve. Since then women have been continuously represented in the Legislative Council. The first Liberal woman to serve in the Legislative Council was Eileen Furley in 1962. The first National Party woman was Judy Jakins in 1984. The first minor-party woman was Democrat Elisabeth Kirkby, elected in 1981. The first Call to Australia/Christian Democrat woman was Marie Bignold in 1984; the first Greens woman was Lee Rhiannon in 1999. No female MLCs have been elected as independents, although Anne Press, Marie Bignold, Beryl Evans, Franca Arena and Helen Sham-Ho all left their parties and continued to sit as independents.
The first female minister in the Legislative Council was Virginia Chadwick, who was appointed Minister for Family and Community Services in 1988 by Premier Nick Greiner. Deirdre Grusovin and Carmel Tebbutt held ministerial positions in Labor governments before transferring to the Legislative Assembly.
Names in bold type indicate ministers and parliamentary secretaries. Names in italics are of women who entered the parliament through by-election or appointment. Names marked with an asterisk (*) also served in the Legislative Assembly. Where no closing date is shown, the MLC’s term of service is unexpired.[1]
| Name | Party | Period of service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catherine Green | Labor | 24 November 1931 - 7 September 1932 (resigned) | |
| 2 | Ellen Webster | Labor | 26 November 1931 - 22 April 1934 (defeated) | |
| 3 | Gertrude Melville | Labor | 10 September 1952 - 21 August 1959 (died) | |
| 4 | Edna Roper | Labor | 23 April 1958 - 5 November 1978 (retired) | |
| 5 | Anne Press | Labor/Ind Labor/Liberal | 22 October 1959 - 5 November 1978 (retired) | |
| 6 | Amelia Rygate | Ind Labor/Labor | 7 September 1961 - 5 November 1978 (retired) | |
| 7 | Eileen Furley | Liberal | 14 November 1962 - 22 April 1976 (retired) | |
| 8 | Evelyn Barron | Labor | 23 April 1964 - 22 April 1976 (retired) | |
| 9 | Margaret Davis | Liberal | 23 April 1967 - 15 September 1978 (resigned to run for LA) | |
| 10 | Kath Anderson | Labor | 23 April 1973 - 28 August 1981 (retired) | |
| Vi Lloyd | Liberal | 23 April 1973 - 28 August 1981 (retired) | ||
| 12 | Delcia Kite | Labor | 23 April 1976 - 3 March 1995 (retired) | |
| 13 | Marie Fisher | Labor | 7 October 1978 - 22 February 1988 (retired) | |
| 14 | Virginia Chadwick | Liberal | 6 November 1978 - 5 March 1999 (retired) | |
| Deirdre Grusovin | Labor | 6 November 1978 - 31 May 1990 (resigned to run for LA) | ||
| Dorothy Isaksen | Labor | 6 November 1978 - 22 February 1988 (defeated) 4 July 1990 - 5 March 1999 (retired) | ||
| 17 | Franca Arena | Labor/Independent | 27 October 1981 - 5 March 1999 (defeated) | |
| Elisabeth Kirkby | Democrats | 27 October 1981 - 25 June 1998 (resigned) | ||
| 19 | Ann Symonds | Labor | 8 September 1982 - 30 April 1998 (resigned) | |
| 20 | Beryl Evans | Liberal/Independent | 30 April 1984 - 3 March 1995 (defeated) | |
| Judy Jakins | National | 30 April 1984 - 1 July 1991 (seat abolished) | ||
| 22 | Marie Bignold | Call to Australia/Independent | 5 December 1984 - 1 July 1991 (seat abolished) | |
| Judith Walker | Labor | 5 December 1984 - 3 March 1995 (retired) | ||
| 24 | Marlene Goldsmith | Liberal | 19 March 1988 - 5 March 1999 (retired) | |
| Elaine Nile | Call to Australia/CDP | 19 March 1988 - 27 August 2002 (resigned) | ||
| Helen Sham-Ho | Liberal/Independent | 19 March 1988 - 28 February 2003 (retired) | ||
| 27 | Meredith Burgmann | Labor | 25 May 1991 - 23 March 2007 (retired) | |
| Jan Burnswoods | Labor | 25 May 1991 - 23 March 2007 (retired) | ||
| Patricia Forsythe | Liberal | 25 May 1991 - 22 September 2006 (resigned) | ||
| Jenny Gardiner | National | 25 May 1991 - 6 March 2015 (retired) | ||
| 31 | Janelle Saffin | Labor | 25 March 1995 - 28 February 2003 (retired) | |
| Patricia Staunton | Labor | 25 March 1995 - 2 September 1997 (resigned) | ||
| 33 | Carmel Tebbutt | Labor | 30 April 1998 - 26 August 2005 (resigned to run for LA) | |
| 34 | Lee Rhiannon | Greens | 27 March 1999 - 19 July 2010 (resigned to run for Senate) | |
| 35 | Amanda Fazio | Labor | 30 August 2000 - 6 March 2015 (retired) | |
| 36 | Melinda Pavey | National | 3 September 2002 - 6 March 2015 (retired to run for LA) | |
| 37 | Catherine Cusack | Liberal | 22 March 2003 - | |
| Kayee Griffin | Labor | 22 March 2003 - 4 March 2011 (retired) | ||
| Sylvia Hale | Greens | 22 March 2003 - 6 September 2010 (resigned) | ||
| Robyn Parker | Liberal | 22 March 2003 - 4 March 2011 (retired to run for LA) | ||
| Christine Robertson | Labor | 22 March 2003 - 4 March 2011 (retired) | ||
| 42 | Penny Sharpe | Labor | 11 October 2005 - 5 March 2015 (resigned) 6 May 2015 - | |
| 43 | Marie Ficarra | Liberal | 24 March 2007 - 6 March 2015 (retired) | |
| Lynda Voltz | Labor | 24 March 2007 - 28 February 2019 (retired to run for LA) | ||
| Helen Westwood | Labor | 24 March 2007 - 6 March 2015 (defeated) | ||
| 46 | Sophie Cotsis | Labor | 7 September 2010 - 16 September 2016 (resigned to run for LA) | |
| Cate Faehrmann | Greens | 7 September 2010 - 18 June 2013 (resigned to run for Senate) 15 August 2018 - | ||
| 48 | Jan Barham | Greens | 26 March 2011 - 13 February 2017 (resigned) | |
| Natasha Maclaren-Jones | Liberal | 26 March 2011 - | ||
| Sarah Mitchell | National | 26 March 2011 - | ||
| 51 | Mehreen Faruqi | Greens | 19 June 2013 - 14 August 2018 (resigned to be appointed to Senate) | |
| 52 | Courtney Houssos | Labor | 28 March 2015 - | |
| Bronnie Taylor | National | 28 March 2015 - | ||
| 54 | Dawn Walker | Greens | 22 February 2017 - 23 March 2019 (defeated) | |
| 55 | Natalie Ward | Liberal | 16 November 2017 - | |
| 56 | Abigail Boyd | Greens | 23 March 2019 - | |
| Emma Hurst | Animal Justice | 23 March 2019 - | ||
| Tara Moriarty | Labor | 23 March 2019 - | ||
| 59 | Rose Jackson | Labor | 8 May 2019 - | |
| 60 | Sue Higginson | Greens | 12 May 2022 - |
DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1930 till:2025TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1930
Colors = id:AL value:red legend: Australian Labor Party id:IL value:coral legend: Independent Labor Group id:LP value:blue legend: Liberal Party of Australia id:AD value:orange legend: Australian Democrats id:NP value:teal legend: National Party of Australia id:CD value:purple legend: Call to Australia/Christian Democratic Party id:AG value:brightgreen legend: Australian Greens id:AJ value:claret legend: Animal Justice Party id:ID value:gray(0.6) legend:Independent
Legend = columns:3 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:200
BarData = barset:MLCs bar:Press bar:Rygate barset:MLCs2 bar:Isaksen bar:Arena barset:MLCs3 bar:Bignold barset:MLCs4 bar:ShamHo barset:MLCs5 bar:Sharpe bar:Faehrmann barset:MLCs6 barset:MLCs7
PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:MLCs from:1931 till:1932 color:AL text:"Catherine Green (1931–1932)" from:1931 till:1934 color:AL text:"Ellen Webster (1931–1934)" from:1952 till:1958 color:AL text:"Gertrude Melville (1952–1958)" from:1958 till:1978 color:AL text:"Edna Roper (1958–1978)" bar:Press from:1959 till:1960 color:AL text:" from:1960 till:1967 color:IL text:" from:1967 till:1978 color:LP text:"Anne Press (1959–1978)" bar:Rygate from:1961 till:1966 color:IL text:" from:1966 till:1978 color:AL text:"Amelia Rygate (1961–1978)" barset:MLCs2 from:1962 till:1976 color:LP text:"Eileen Furley (1962–1976)" from:1963 till:1976 color:AL text:"Evelyn Barron (1963–1976)" from:1967 till:1978 color:LP text:"Margaret Davis (1967–1978)" from:1973 till:1981 color:AL text:"Kath Anderson (1973–1981)" from:1973 till:1981 color:LP text:"Vi Lloyd (1973–1981)" from:1976 till:1995 color:AL text:"Delcia Kite (1976–1995)" from:1978 till:1988 color:AL text:"Marie Fisher (1978–1988)" from:1978 till:1999 color:LP text:"Virginia Chadwick (1978–1999)" from:1978 till:1990 color:AL text:"Deirdre Grusovin (1978–1990)" bar:Isaksen from:1978 till:1988 color:AL text:" from:1990 till:1999 color:AL text:"Dorothy Isaksen (1978–1988, 1990–1999)" bar:Arena from:1981 till:1997 color:AL text:" from:1997 till:1999 color:ID text:"Franca Arena (1981–1999)" barset:MLCs3 from:1981 till:1998 color:AD text:"Elisabeth Kirkby (1981–1998)" from:1982 till:1998 color:AL text:"Ann Symonds (1982–1998)" from:1984 till:1995 color:LP text:"Beryl Evans (1984–1995)" from:1984 till:1991 color:NP text:"Judy Jakins (1984–1991)" bar:Bignold from:1984 till:1988 color:CD text:" from:1988 till:1991 color:ID text:"Marie Bignold (1984–1991)" barset:MLCs4 from:1984 till:1995 color:AL text:"Judith Walker (1984–1995)" from:1988 till:1999 color:LP text:"Marlene Goldsmith (1988–1999)" from:1988 till:2002 color:CD text:"Elaine Nile (1988–2002)" bar:ShamHo from:1988 till:1998 color:LP text:" from:1998 till:2003 color:ID text:"Helen Sham-Ho (1988–2003" barset:MLCs5 from:1991 till:2007 color:AL text:"Meredith Burgmann (1991–2007)" from:1991 till:2007 color:AL text:"Jan Burnswoods (1991–2007)" from:1991 till:2006 color:LP text:"Patricia Forsythe (1991–2006)" from:1991 till:2015 color:NP text:"Jenny Gardiner (1991–2015)" from:1995 till:2003 color:AL text:"Janelle Saffin (1995–2003)" from:1995 till:1997 color:AL text:"Patricia Staunton (1995–1997)" from:1998 till:2005 color:AL text:"Carmel Tebbutt (1998–2005)" from:1999 till:2010 color:AG text:"Lee Rhiannon (1999–2010)" from:2000 till:2015 color:AL text:"Amanda Fazio (2000–2015)" from:2002 till:2015 color:NP text:"Melinda Pavey (2002–2015)" from:2003 till:2023 color:LP text:"Catherine Cusack (2003–present)" from:2003 till:2011 color:AL text:"Kayee Griffin (2003–2011)" from:2003 till:2010 color:AG text:"Sylvia Hale (2003–2010)" from:2003 till:2011 color:LP text:"Robyn Parker (2003–2011)" from:2003 till:2011 color:AL text:"Christine Robertson (2003–2011)" bar:Sharpe from:2005 till:2014 color:AL text:" from:2015 till:2023 color:AL text:"Penny Sharpe (2005–2015, 2015–present)" barset:MLCs6 from:2007 till:2015 color:LP text:"Marie Ficarra (2007–2015)" from:2007 till:2019 color:AL text:"Lynda Voltz (2007–2019)" from:2007 till:2015 color:AL text:"Helen Westwood (2007–2015)" from:2010 till:2016 color:AL text:"Sophie Cotsis (2010–2016)" bar:Faehrmann from:2010 till:2013 color:AG from:2018 till:2023 color:AG text:"Cate Faehrmann (2010–2013, 2018–present)" barset:MLCs7 from:2011 till:2017 color:AG text:"Jan Barham (2011–2017)" from:2011 till:2023 color:LP text:"Natasha Maclaren-Jones (2011–present)" from:2011 till:2023 color:NP text:"Sarah Mitchell (2011–present)" from:2013 till:2018 color:AG text:"Mehreen Faruqi (2013–2018)" from:2015 till:2023 color:AL text:"Courtney Houssos (2015–present)" from:2015 till:2023 color:NP text:"Bronnie Taylor (2015–present)" from:2017 till:2019 color:AG text:"Dawn Walker (2017–2019)" from:2017 till:2023 color:LP text:"Natalie Ward (2017–present)" from:2019 till:2023 color:AG text:"Abigail Boyd (2019–present)" from:2019 till:2023 color:AJ text:"Emma Hurst (2019–present)" from:2019 till:2023 color:AL text:"Tara Moriarty (2019–present)" from:2019 till:2023 color:AL text:"Rose Jackson (2019–present)" from:2022 till:2023 color:AG text:"Sue Higginson (2022–present)" barset:skip
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 | colspan=3 | Labor | colspan=3 | Liberal | colspan=3 | National | colspan=3 | Greens | colspan=3 | Others | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | Women | Total | % | |||||||||||||||||
| 1952–1955 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 33 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 14 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 0.0% | 0 | 60 | 0.0% | |
| 1955–1958 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 35 | align=right | 2.9% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 0.0% | 1 | 60 | 1.7% | |
| 1958–1961 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 34 | align=right | 5.9% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 0.0% | 2 | 60 | 3.3% | |
| 1961–1964 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 23 | align=right | 4.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 15 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 10 | align=right | 10.0% | 2 | 59 | 3.4% | |
| 1964–1967 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 27 | align=right | 7.4% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 9.1% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 8 | align=right | 25.0% | 5 | 58 | 8.6% | |
| 1967–1970 | align=right | 3 | align=right | 29 | align=right | 10.3% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 16.7% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 14.3% | 6 | 60 | 10.0% | |
| 1970–1973 | align=right | 3 | align=right | 27 | align=right | 11.1% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 15 | align=right | 20.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 0.0% | 6 | 59 | 10.2% | |
| 1973–1976 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 24 | align=right | 16.7% | align=right | 4 | align=right | 20 | align=right | 20.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 0.0% | 8 | 59 | 13.6% | |
| 1976–1978 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 23 | align=right | 17.4% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 22 | align=right | 13.6% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0.0% | 7 | 59 | 11.9% | |
| 1978–1981 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 23 | align=right | 21.7% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 14 | align=right | 14.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | 7 | 43 | 16.3% | |
| 1981–1984 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 24 | align=right | 20.8% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 8.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 50.0% | 7 | 44 | 15.9% | |
| 1984–1988 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 24 | align=right | 25.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 18.2% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 14.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 3 | align=right | 33.3% | 10 | 45 | 22.2% | |
| 1988–1991 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 21 | align=right | 23.8% | align=right | 4 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 33.3% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 14.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 60.0% | 13 | 45 | 28.9% | |
| 1991–1995 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 18 | align=right | 38.9% | align=right | 6 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 38.5% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 14.3% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 50.0% | 15 | 42 | 35.7% | |
| 1995–1999 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 17 | align=right | 41.2% | align=right | 4 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 30.8% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 20.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 33.3% | 14 | 42 | 33.3% | |
| 1999–2003 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 16 | align=right | 25.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 9 | align=right | 11.1% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 25.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 50.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 18.2% | 9 | 42 | 21.4% | |
| 2003–2007 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 18 | align=right | 33.3% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 9 | align=right | 33.3% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 50.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 3 | align=right | 66.7% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 8 | align=right | 0.0% | 13 | 42 | 31.0% | |
| 2007–2011 | align=right | 6 | align=right | 19 | align=right | 31.6% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 10 | align=right | 30.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 40.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 50.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 0.0% | 13 | 42 | 31.0% | |
| 2011–2015 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 14 | align=right | 35.7% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 23.1% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 42.9% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 40.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 0.0% | 13 | 42 | 31.0% | |
| 2015–2019 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 33.3% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 15.4% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 28.6% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 40.0% | align=right | 0 | align=right | 5 | align=right | 0.0% | 10 | 42 | 23.8% | |
| 2019–2023 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 13 | align=right | 30.8% | align=right | 3 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 27.2% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 40.0% | align=right | 2 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 50.0% | align=right | 1 | align=right | 8 | align=right | 12.5% | 12 | 42 | 28.6% | |