It’s one of the most important social movements in the past 200 years and a cause worth championing according to the sitting Goulburn MP and NSW Minister for Women.

“I’m a liberal feminist,” Goward revealed to the Post last week.

“I don’t believe in quotas; I believe in capitalism; I believe in people being allowed to have jobs in private enterprise; I believe in competition and I believe in difference. I believe in makeup and I like men...

“It’s such an important idea. It’s probably the biggest and most successful social change in 200 years, the change in the status of women.”

Ms Goward has been representing women in state parliament for some seven years. Prior to that she was the federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner and rallied for paid maternity leave.

In the 70s, Ms Goward was a member of the Women’s Movement.

Her role as NSW Minister for Women ensures government policies reflect the needs and interests of women and aim to close the gender gap.

“My job is to keep the pressure up, to keep asking the questions, to keep seeing where we can change policy and change awareness because a lot of it is cultural,” Ms Goward said.

“Feminism was never meant to mean that men and women ended up being the same. It was meant to mean they had the same opportunities. If you don’t want to take the opportunity or want a different opportunity or different choice, do it. It’s what the free world is about… “Unfortunately, in the ‘60s and ‘70s feminism became very much associated with aggressively being anti-private enterprise and anti-market.

“I’ll never forget the number of liberal women politicians who have said to me ‘oh you mustn’t say you’re a feminist, that’s being labour’… “Well, they’ve stolen the term, the term means someone who believes in the rights of women and the right for choice and we are absolutely as entitled as they are to express it the way we want to express it and promote it in ways that we think are consistent with our philosophical views.”

Within her role as Minister, Ms Goward has also begun an annual reporting system on the status for women to monitor trends. The Women in NSW 2014 report is the third to be released.

Figures such as employment opportunity, pay, education, population, health and leadership are included in the report.

Ms Goward said while the gap between men and women is a concern, the difference in opportunity and services between women living in rural and urban areas are equally as important to focus on for progress.

For more information about the status of women see the Women in NSW 2014 report at www.women.nsw.gov.au.

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