Jenny Macklin: 'My plea to women who want a career in politics: go for it'

Women in politics are treated differently. To be a good politician, you have to be capable of getting on with the job in the face of criticism. But I am deeply worried that the level of gender-based attacks female politicians have been subjected to in recent years sets the bar too high for women to want to participate in government. I am concerned that many smart women will decide they don't want to be called names, or have every aspect of their appearance scrutinised. These women might well decide that they can make their contribution to Australian society elsewhere, at less personal cost.

The end result of women feeling bullied and pushed out of politics is a cabinet like the one Tony Abbott seems set to establish this week, where only one woman is deemed senior enough to be present at the table when the big decisions are made. Surely this should make the Liberals reflect on how they reach out to encourage women to become candidates.They must recognise that the barrier for women is higher, and that you do have to actively work to overcome it.

I had the privilege of serving in cabinets that included strong women: first under prime minister Rudd and then under a female prime minister, Julia Gillard, sitting with colleagues such as Penny Wong, Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek. We didn't just deal with women's issues and we didn't speak as a female block. What we did bring to cabinet was an awareness of the different life experiences women have, and the priorities that women can hold. We made cabinet more representative of the Australian population we were there to govern.

Women should not be discouraged from being part of our national life. We must call out the unfair attacks, the double standards, the commentary about handbags. This applies to my side too, and I have previously been critical of Labor's decision not to support more female candidates for safe seats in my home state of Victoria. It applies to commentators, and it applies to the people who vote us in.

Finally, my personal plea to any woman even half considering a career in politics – please go for it. It is hard and you will need to be resilient. But the rewards are immense and you will be able to make change to help improve our nation in a way that you cannot do anywhere else. We need you.

• Jenny Macklin is federal member for Jagajaga and former minister for disability reform

Paula Matthewson: 'It was always going to be a big ask for Abbott to match the number of female cabinet ministers appointed by Labor'

Undoubtedly, having only one woman in the senior ministry is a bad look for Tony Abbott. But before we start slinging the "misogyny" word around, let's look at some of the reasons why this has happened.

Over the four years that Abbott was opposition leader, he made virtually no changes to his shadow ministry. This was mostly to convey a sense of stability to the voting public, in contrast to the internal warfare wracking the Labor party. But Abbott's refusal to change his team during that time was also a signal to the young Turks in his party that no agitation or profile-building on their part would be rewarded with a ministerial slot. They were being told – men and women alike – that they had to bide their time. As a result, none were given progression opportunities.

In his quest to frame his first government as one comprised of grownups, Abbott appears determined to continue this sense of stability by still only making minimal changes. This makes sense for continuity too, considering the new ministers will be conversant with the ins and outs of the portfolios they have been shadowing for several years.

In doing so, Abbott will follow previous prime ministers Hawke (1), Keating (1) and Howard (2) in having only a small number of women in his first cabinet. Kevin Rudd set a new standard with four women in his first cabinet, all of whom unarguably got there on merit, and Julia Gillard maintained that standard with the same four women in hers.

While it would be easy, perhaps even intellectually lazy, to seize upon the number of women in Abbott's cabinet as confirmation of his so-called misogyny, it was always going to be a big ask for him to equal the record number of female cabinet ministers appointed by Rudd and Gillard. Who Abbott appoints to the outer ministry and as parliamentary secretaries is a different matter altogether, as well as the manner in which he will foster and promote talented female parliamentarians over time.

• Paula Matthewson was media adviser to John Howard in the early 1990s. She now works as a freelance writer and blogs at ausopinion.com

Karen Pickering: 'I don't want to see women inserted tokenistically into the upper echelons of power'

It should scarcely surprise anyone that an Abbott cabinet will feature just one woman, not only because of his problem with women, but because the Liberal party has failed to foster its female talent into leadership roles. Unlike other countries where conservative women have led government (New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany to name a few), the Australian right has never elevated a woman to the top job.

This is in sharp contrast to the liberal and conservative traditions in Australia which produced not only Dame Enid Lyons (the first Australian woman appointed to cabinet by Menzies in 1949) but Ivy Wedgwood (first woman Senate committee chair, 1968), and Margaret Guilfoyle (first woman in charge of a department, 1975). Even John Howard had two women in his first cabinet; Jocelyn Newman and Amanda Vanstone, with later cabinets including Kay Patterson, Helen Coonan and – you guessed it – Julie Bishop.

For a party obsessed with the idea of "merit", it must be confusing to its current crop of women to be told that they mysteriously don't have any. But frankly, I don't want to see women inserted tokenistically into the upper echelons of power. Women are not props.

In truth, it's much more important to me that whoever is in cabinet, they respect and value women – not as objects or accessories or even a voting bloc that must be pandered to, but as equals with a stake in driving the future of our country. I care far more that women are absolutely essential to political life, influential at every level, and are leading dynamic conversations in the public sphere around social and cultural change. I know this is already happening, and that the new cabinet does not reflect that, so why does it matter?

It matters because girls growing up should aspire to be whatever they want. When they see women who are scientists, pilots, mechanics, firefighters, directors, and yes, politicians, they know it's possible. Put simply, if they can see it, they can be it. What are they seeing right now?

• Karen Pickering is a feminist presenter, writer and educator

Nareen Young: 'Leadership should reflect the community that it serves'

Low levels of diversity in positions of leadership in any sector represent an enormous waste of talent. The idea that only white straight men from one socio-economic background have the skills and capabilities for leadership is simply wrong.

For some time now, the business community has recognised the need for change in this area. Listed companies are required to adopt and disclose a gender diversity policy and measurable objectives relating to gender or explain why they have not done so. Leading employers are undertaking a range of activities to increase women in leadership, including setting targets and holding people accountable for achieving them. These employers are also active in attracting, retaining and promoting other diverse talent – like people with a disability, older workers, culturally diverse, Indigenous and LGBT talent.

I think most people would expect that leadership should reflect the community that it serves. To have so few diverse representatives from the community does it a disservice.

• Nareen Young is CEO Diversity Council Australia

Jane Caro: 'Isn't it enough he has a female chief of staff?'

Can you believe it? A bunch of those feminazis are complaining because there will be only one women in cabinet. It must be their time of the month – maybe it's always their time of the month? They say women who spend too long in the same place (like the cabinet) synchronise their periods – so, hey, that's one reason we can't have more than one chick. They'd all go bonkers at once! Even more bonkers than they usually are, I mean. Great way to run a country; just look what happened the last time!

No wonder poor old Tony doesn't want any more chicks in his place of work than he absolutely has to. Look at his home life; a career-oriented wife and three daughters – three! – plus a phalanx of sisters and a mum. Give the guy a break. Don't you sheilas understand it's why we go to work, to get away from all that icky estrogen, shrill chatter and jiggly cleavage? Isn't it enough he has a female chief of staff?

Anyway, Jules will be great as minister of foreign affairs (there's a great running joke in the party about that title but if I tell it those feminazis will start destroying the joint – again) mainly because she will be overseas most of the time and that'll leave us blokes to get on with running the country. Which is as it always has been, as it always should be, and as it bloody well will be from now on if we have anything to do with it.

We believe in promotion on merit, and how is it our fault if women don't have any?

• Jane Caro is a social commentator, writer and lecturer