For 30 years now the Coalition parties have ensured women are limited to just 20 per cent of their federal MPs.

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In every election since 1996 women have made up between 17 and 21 per cent of federal Coalition MPs, never more and never less.

While more than half the Labor caucus in both houses is now female, the Liberal and National parties have been running a system that delivers 80 per cent of federal lower house seats to men.

Despite the Coalition now having its lowest female representation in Federal Parliament in over 30 years yet another Liberal Party review has shied away from taking direct action to get more women into Parliament.

The resignation of Sussan Ley, and the defeat of the Liberal woman seeking to replace her, left the Liberals with just five female members in the House of Representatives.

When John Howard surged to power in 1996 his 94 MPs included a record 18 women - 17 Liberals and the first ever woman to represent the Nationals in the House of Representatives, De-Anne Kelly.

John Howard couldn't resist rubbing it in, boasting that the election result was proof Labor's newly adopted 30 per cent quota had failed, and only "merit" could fix the gender gap.

Few statements have aged so badly.

In the 30 years and 10 elections since, 1996 remains the high-water mark for Coalition women.

Today, the Liberal and National parties have fewer than half the number of female federal MPs as they did under John Howard, a prime minister not noted for his commitment to affirmative action.

Over the next two decades, Labor doubled down on quotas, with Simon Crean pushing through a motion at the 2002 ALP Special Rules Conference to lift the minimum requirement for women in preselections to 40 per cent. In 2015 Bill Shorten completed the job with ALP rules now requiring women to make up 50 per cent of its candidates in winnable seats.

Labor eclipsed the Coalition in 2001 with 20 women MPs to the Coalition's 17, then a record 27 in Kevin Rudd's 2007 election victory, 28 in Bill Shorten's two losing elections in 2016 and 2019, and 36 as the Albanese........

© Canberra Times