A History of Women's Electoral Lobby

Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) is the women's organisation most often mentioned in Australian parliaments, the media, political science and public policy texts and has served as a proxy for women's political agency and policy influence. Despite its political impact and its subjective meanings for a generation of activists, no full-scale history has yet been written. This project aims to produce a two volume history using Australian evidence to address questions of theoretical and practical significance, including: The conditions of feminist influence on public policy; The discursive strategies associated with policy success; The usefulness of the state feminism strategy; The relative significance of national and international factors