Labor leader Bill Shorten is vowing to give Australian women a better chance at equal opportunity and fair pay in an election policy that also commits to appointing a woman as the next governor-general.

Mr Shorten said he believed Australians were ready to “share power” between men and women, starting with the promotion of more women to senior positions under a federal Labor government.

In an exclusive interview ahead of the election campaign, Mr Shorten told The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age he was “hungry to start the work” as prime minister if Labor wins the federal election that could be called within a week.

As he campaigned in Sydney and Melbourne over recent days, Mr Shorten named Labor’s policy on equality for women as the work he was proudest of in preparation for the election.