Freshly endorsed as the Nationals' deputy leader, Bridget McKenzie was exactly where she wanted to be — up at the front of the post-election partyroom meeting.

Her leader, Michael McCormack, had just finished addressing colleagues when Damian Drum, the party whip, called the new Nationals ladies forward for a photo.

Senator McKenzie, clearly bemused at the oversight, quipped "right, well, this woman is already up the front so I'll just have something to say" before launching into her own congratulatory address.

Before the election, the traditionally blokey party boasted just two women in its ranks but that number has now tripled to six — a change Senator McKenzie believes will do the Nationals "a world of good".

Chart showing number of women and men in Parliament ( ABC News )

From the perspective of female representation, it was perhaps the only bright spot in an election that did little to boost the number of women in Federal Parliament.

Despite having made women a huge feature of its campaign, Labor fell just short of its goal of achieving equal representation in the 46th Parliament.

Women will make up 47 per cent of Labor's ranks and outnumber the men in the Senate.

For the Liberals, it's 23 per cent (only 14 of the party's 77 Lower House MPs are female) — a very slight improvement.

Not only have the numbers barely shifted, but it appears neither major party will have a woman in their leadership team with Labor's deputy Tanya Plibersek stepping down from the position following her party's election loss.

Peta Murphy was a lawyer and political staffer before entering politics. ( Supplied: @PetaMurphyDunkley )

The first female Member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, is one of about 23 newly elected women who will soon be making their way to Canberra, and the significance of her seat is not lost on her.

"Dunkley's named after Louisa Dunkley who in the 1890s was in the Victorian Telegraph office and started a campaign for equal pay for women in that office and ended up spearheading the national campaign and in the 1902 Commonwealth Public Service Act, there's equal pay for women in the Telegraph office," she said.

"For me, Louisa stood for fairness, equality and community and I can't think of three better things for the first female representative for Dunkley to fight for."

A lawyer and political staffer, Peta Murphy is also a breast cancer survivor, an ordeal she said had given her the courage to put her hand up and run for politics.

Kate Thwaites said she was inspired by other female MPs who had juggled parenthood and poltics. ( Supplied: @Kate4Jagajaga )

She will be joined on the Opposition benches by the new Member for Jagajaga, Kate Thwaites, who has replaced Labor veteran Jenny Macklin.

New and continuing women in Parliament ( ABC News )

Ms Thwaites credits Labor's quota system for forcing change in the party and getting more women into its ranks, and said being a woman was an advantage on the campaign trail.

"I had a lot of people, both men and women come to me and say they were really pleased to see a young-ish woman standing for Parliament," she said.

"One of the things that really propelled me forward was that I do think we need to see more women in Parliament and if I want to see that, then I thought I needed to be part of it."

Ms Twaites has a one-year-old daughter and is drawing inspiration from former MPs Kate Ellis and Kelly O'Dwyer who managed to juggle parenthood and politics.

It is no mean feat given politicians spend half of their year travelling to and from Canberra, working long, irregular hours.

"One of the things I really took heart from when I was thinking about whether I stand — and when I was preselected, my baby was five months old, so it was a real factor in my mind — was the fact that there are women who have done it and done it successfully," she said.

The new crop of female talent brings with it a broad range of real-world experience. From a vet to an academic, a paediatrician to a psychologist. Their backgrounds are many and varied.

For the incoming Member for Moncrieff, Angie Bell, her life experience and long career as an author, marketing consultant and businesswoman were key to winning preselection.

She will also become the first gay woman to represent a major party in the House of Representatives — a record she is proud of.

Angie Bell replaced Steven Ciobo in a safe Liberal seat on the Gold Coast. ( ABC Gold Coast: Elise Kinsella )

"I was never marginalised as a member of the LNP," she said.

"I think Australia has spoken on this topic and we've moved forward and that makes me very happy."

As the LNP's women president, Ms Bell recognised the need to get more women into Parliament and put in place a program to get future female MPs the money and profile they need for preselection.

"That ultimately resulted in Moncrieff, having five women stand for preselection in a field of eight, which is an outstanding result," she said.

She prevailed, replacing a man and securing a safe Liberal seat.

But her party still has a long way to go to solve its so-called woman problem and shake its boys' club perception.