But Mrs Bishop, who has been anointed as Mr Abbott's pick for Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the Liberal leader had picked a ''really good team''. Bronwyn Bishop has praised Abbott's ministerial line-up as a "really good team". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen ''I never want to see affirmative action - that is, you got the job because you were a woman because that makes you a permanent second-class citizen,'' Mrs Bishop told Fairfax Radio on Tuesday. ''There are many talented women who are in our ranks in the Coalition and although there's only one in the cabinet there are a number on the frontbench as a whole and there are talented people on the backbench who were fairly recently elected who will learn more about the Parliament and will earn their stripes as it were. ''You will find that they will come through the ranks.''

Mr Abbott has named incoming foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop as the only woman in the top decision-making body, cabinet, while four women are in the 11-member outer ministry and one woman is among the 12 parliamentary secretaries. Julie Bishop, pictured with prime mnister-elect Tony Abbott and new LIberal MP Fiona Scott, says she's never considered herself a 'token woman'. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Abbott said on Monday he was disappointed the cabinet did not have at least two women, but added that ''some very good and talented women [were] knocking on the door of the cabinet''. Bronwyn Bishop denied the decisions would discourage other women from pursuing a career in politics. Mrs Bishop said politics was not an ''easy road'' and was ''no place for wilting violets'' but any woman who wanted to be a servant of the people had an opportunity.

''I do remember way back when I first stood for the Senate, the first time I stood, somebody said to me, 'Mrs Bishop, NSW has never had a woman senator; why should we have one now?' And I said, 'because I'm the best person for the job'. They didn't choose me then but I didn't go away and whinge about it either. I just worked hard so they chose me subsequently.'' They didn't choose me then but I didn't go away and whinge about it either. I just worked hard so they chose me subsequently. Ms Buttrose described Julie Bishop as the ''token woman'' in cabinet. ''A glass ceiling still does exist in Australia. We're told it doesn't, but that's a nonsense. It does exist,'' Ms Buttrose told ABC Radio. ''I'm sure Julie Bishop is accustomed to being the token woman throughout her career, and here she is being the token woman again.''

Ms Buttrose said when she was running Australian Women's Weekly ''years ago'', she had then been concerned about the lack of women in decision-making positions in the federal parliament. ''I felt that our voice wasn't heard well enough, and our views weren't canvassed well enough,'' she said. ''You can't have that kind of Parliament in 2013. It's unacceptable.'' But Julie Bishop said she did not believe there was a glass ceiling and she had never considered herself as a token woman: ''I believe in people being promoted on merit.'' ''The number of women in the ministry will build over time. Currently there are a number of capable, talented women who will be considered for cabinet in due course,'' Ms Bishop told ABC Radio.

Liberal senator Sue Boyce has criticised the low representation as ''shocking and embarrassing''. Senator Boyce, whose term ends on June 30 next year, said it was a ''systemic problem for our party'' and the low numbers would ''permanently tarnish a wonderful victory''. ''I hope everyone in the party will recognise this as our last chance to genuinely reform our preselection processes so that we foster the depth of talent needed to ensure that we have women, as well as men, ready to take on senior roles in the ministry,'' she said. Former Victorian Liberal senator Judith Troeth said the lack of women in ministerial roles would discourage other women from considering a career in politics. ''It sends a bad message,'' Ms Troeth, who served in the Senate from 1993 to 2011, said.

She questioned why women would go ''through the trauma of preselection and getting elected'' if they knew they could ''expect nothing in the way of promotion''. Labor employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor said he agreed with Ms Buttrose's argument that a glass ceiling remained in place. ''This should be a concern to most people because it clearly shows Mr Abbott is out of touch with contemporary Australia to think you could have one women cabinet minister,'' Mr O'Connor told Sky News on Tuesday. Mr O'Connor said Mr Abbott had chosen only six women out of 42 in the combined cabinet, ministry and parliamentary secretary ranks. He said Mr Abbott was surrounded by women through the entire election campaign but had fallen short when it came to making decisions to include them at the upper echelons of government.

''He made the decision. He may well say he's disappointed but he's disappointed in himself that he couldn't find another woman to be at the most important table in the nation,'' Mr O'Connor said. Loading Labor's acting leader Chris Bowen mocked the lack of women: ''The cabinet of Afghanistan now has more women than the cabinet of Australia.'' with Stephanie Peatling and AAP