Women
First woman appointed to a cabinet position
19 December 1949
Enid Lyons is appointed to the Federal Executive Council, the first woman to hold such a position.
Already the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, Dame Enid Lyons MP was appointed Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council in 1949. The Federal Executive Council is made up of ministers and the Governor-General and discusses government policies and actions. She was the first woman to be a member of the Council and to attend Cabinet meetings. However, as she had no ministerial portfolio – area of responsibility – it was, in her words, a ‘toothless position’.
It was not until 1966 with the appointment of Dame Annabelle Rankin as Minister for Housing that a woman led a government department. In 1976 Dame Margaret Guilfoyle became the first woman Cabinet minister with portfolio.
Enid Lyons presides over the Federal Executive Council
National Archives of Australia, A8139 VOL 4, L13017
Enid Lyons presides over the Federal Executive Council
National Archives of Australia, A8139 VOL 4, L13017
Description
Dame Enid Lyons was not only the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, but also the first woman appointed to a Cabinet position. She is shown here presiding over a meeting of the Federal Executive Council.