The idea that women are not great leaders is "embedded" in Australian society and it could take a generation for the idea of women in politics to become truly mainstream, according to a political academic.

Australian National University political lecturer Jill Sheppard said her research suggested male conservative voters were less likely than to support a female candidate or leader.

By the numbers Women hold 41 out of 145 seats (28 per cent) in the House of Representatives (excluding five vacant seats going to by-elections)

Women hold 41 out of 145 seats (28 per cent) in the House of Representatives (excluding five vacant seats going to by-elections) In the Senate, women have 29 of the 76 seats (38 per cent)

In the Senate, women have 29 of the 76 seats (38 per cent) In Queensland's Parliament, women hold 30 seats out of 93 (32 per cent)

In Queensland's Parliament, women hold 30 seats out of 93 (32 per cent) Across Queensland councils, 182 women have been elected as councillors and mayors out of 579 (31 per cent)

Her latest study surveyed more than 2,200 voters and drilled down into what traits appealed to voters.

It showed when all other things were equal, conservative male voters were less likely to support a female candidate, even if their traits or experience were superior to men.

Dr Sheppard said while some voters might be reluctant to support women, people within political parties who decided state and federal candidates bore some responsibility.

She said it was not just the major parties that were reluctant to have women lead or even represent them in elections.

"Even a party like the Greens, who have had more success than the major parties with pre-selecting female candidates — they still have this problem," she said, referring to the Greens' dispute about their candidate for the Victorian seat of Batman.

Political historically landscape dominated by men

University of Queensland political lecturer Chris Salisbury said politics had been dominated by men throughout Australian history, and this was a hangover.

"It's only in the last 25 to 30 years that women have increasingly been a feature of our political landscape," Dr Salisbury said.

"Prior to that it has been overwhelmingly male-dominated and a little bit of that history still lingers I think — the systems and structures of politics. That takes time to overcome.

"I think we still seem to be in the process of trying to move around that older, white, male-dominated type that was for so long the epitome of our elected representatives."

Earlier this month, Assistant Minister for Disability Services and Queensland LNP member Jane Prentice lost preselection for her safe Brisbane seat, reviving debate about the number of women in Australian politics.

Come July 28, four Labor and minor party MPs will be trying to win back the seats they lost after the High Court's ruling on dual citizenships.

In 2015, Labor embraced a 50 per cent target for women in positions at all levels of the party.

In Ireland, the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act includes a section that incentivises parties to select at least 30 per cent female candidates and at least 30 per cent male candidates.

The Liberal Party has announced a target of 50 per cent of candidates to be female by 2025. Meanwhile, the disparity of men and women in its ranks is growing.

Women outnumber men, so why aren't more being elected?

At every level of politics in Queensland, women are a minority.

The proportion of women in local councils and state and federal government in Queensland hovers around 30 per cent.

But in some pockets of the state, the ratio of men to women in power is more stark.

Women outnumber men by more than 10,000 on the Sunshine Coast, yet just four women have won any of the 40 elected positions across the region.

The area includes three councils with 27 elected officials plus nine state seats and four federal seats.

The Sunshine Coast and Noosa Councils each have a single female councillor. Gympie has none.

The state seats of Noosa and Maroochydore are held by independent Sandy Bolton and the LNP's Fiona Simpson respectively.

If the ALP's Susan Lamb is defeated in the marginal seat of Longman, there will be no female federal MPs on the Sunshine Coast, representing a population of more than 300,000 people.

'Oh that's a bit masculine, you should put a skirt on'

Independent Noosa MP Sandy Bolton is one of 30 women in the Queensland Parliament. ( ABC News )

Sandy Bolton is one of the 30 women elected to the Queensland Parliament and is the only independent MP.

She does not believe sexism is the reason why more men are in power on the Sunshine Coast.

Ms Bolton, a former councillor, said there were other reasons why women were not winning seats.

She said some women were concerned about the long hours, others about the impact on their families, and some even questioned the cyberbullying that politicians encountered.

Ms Bolton said she had never faced sexism as a councillor or an MP, but admitted there had been occasional quips from members of the public.

"When I wear trousers, some say 'Oh that's a bit masculine, you should put a skirt on'.

"If I wear a skirt they say, 'That's not really suitable, you should wear a pair of trousers'."

"But we're moving along rapidly.

"When you look at the calibre of females not only within state but within local government and the work they're doing — the proof is in the pudding."

Stateswoman of the Sunshine Coast

Fiona Simpson unsuccessfully contested the LNP leadership in Queensland in 2015. ( ABC News: Matt Eaton )

Fiona Simpson has held the increasingly urban seat of Maroochydore for more than 25 years, continuing the legacy of her father Gordon who held the now-abolished seat of Cooroora for 15 years.

Ms Simpson said parties at a state and federal level were preselecting fewer women.

At a council level, she said, there simply were not enough female candidates.

"If anything, when I first ran, there were a whole lot of women running for preselection," she said.

So why are more women not entering the fray now?

"I think part of it is that people don't necessarily like what they think is a combative area," Ms Simpson said.

"We need people to say, 'Yes it's a challenging arena, but we need that diversity'."

"I just think it's the best person for the job"

When councillor Jenny McKay sits down in the chambers for a Sunshine Coast Council meeting, she is the only woman out of 10 councillors and a mayor leading a population of more than 300,000 people.

"I just think it's the best person for the job," she said.

Cr McKay also reflected on her own political career, saying she might have battled to do it when she had young children at home.

"The hours I commit, if I was a young mum, I wouldn't be able to commit the hours to the job that I do," she said.

Generational change

Dr Sheppard said women still faced a fight to forge a career in politics, in part because men were elected more often at every level.

"They [political parties] want to pre-select someone who will be a success — that leads them to support a male candidate," she said.

"At party headquarters, a lot of people are pushing really hard to have more female candidates, but if you can't convince voters, there's no reason to do that."

But it won't be that way forever, Dr Sheppard said.

"Every generation is getting more used to females in leadership positions.

"We're seeing small increases in the number of women but they tend to be driven by parties on the left.

"Conservative voters and party members tend to look at men as natural leaders in a way they don't look at women.

"This is probably also true of most parts of the ALP and still a part of parties like the Greens.

"It's something embedded in Australian society.

"We will eventually change, but it could take another 20 years before the idea of women in politics becomes mainstream."