The Continuation of Women's Policy Directions from Whitlam to Fraser

Malcolm Fraser became the caretaker prime minister on 11 November 1975, the day now known as the Whitlam Government's Dismissal. The 13 December election confirmed what the polls had predicted. The coalition swept into office with a huge majority and our caretaker prime minister became the actual one. As inaugural head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's women's unit from July 1974 to December 1977, I not only witnessed this historical event but also gained particular insights into Malcolm Fraser's position on the political spectrum—insights that were useful as a public servant at a time of deep division and were borne out in his convictions in later life. In July 1974, I was appointed head of the department's Women's Affairs Section, created to provide bureaucratic assistance to Whitlam's women's adviser. In October 1975, the section was upgraded, becoming the Women's Affairs Branch. In 1977, it was upgraded again as the Office of Women's Affairs. The paper is based on my personal reflections of that event and its effects on the development and implementation of women's policy, assisted by the memories of others who worked in what eventually became the Office of the Status of Women towards the end of Fraser's prime ministership.