Who should attend?
This program has been designed to benefit women who aspire to elected office. QUT's Pathways to Politics for Women program is open to female Queensland residents and aims to inspire and empower participants to lead our country into the future.
Program overview
Applications open from 7 March 2022. Please refer to the 2021 program outline for reference, while the 2022 program is in development. Dates for the 3 workshops are as below. There will also be online learning and virtual sessions in addition to these dates. Dates are subject to change.
- Workshop 1 | Friday 5th and Saturday 6th August 2022
- Workshop 2 | Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September 2022
- Workshop 3 | Friday 7th and Saturday 8th October 2022
The program comprises four modules which each include a face-to-face workshop and online resources. Each workshop is structured around hands-on training and networking, including panels and conversation sessions with women elected to office in local, state, and federal government.
Guest presenters from across the political spectrum feature throughout the program, including politicians (both sitting and retired), pollsters, public speaking professionals, campaign strategists, advisors, public policy experts, and leading figures in Australian political and public life.
The program is delivered over three months through an online learning portal, 3 virtual classrooms, and three 2-day workshops at the Executive Education Centre on the QUT Gardens Point Campus in Brisbane. Participants will also be provided the opportunity for executive coaching and the development of a personal leadership development plan.
Module 1: Understanding your political career
- Understanding politics
- Reflections on political culture
- Making the decision to run
- Creating your story - how to articulate your political vision and why does it matter?
- Party machines
- Understanding political parties
- The practicalities of party politics
Module 2: Preparing to run
- Building your base
- Building institutional and personal networks
- Fundraising
- Moral dilemmas in politics
- The responsibilities that come with political leadership
- Maintaining your political vision in the face of ethical and political challenges
- Leadership insights
- Creating your personal leadership vision
- Understanding your leadership strengths and challenges
Module 3: Becoming the strongest candidate
- From political vision to stump speech
- Transforming your political vision into a speech
- Presenting with impact
- Media training
- How to deal with the media
- Using social media to support your campaign
- Policy making
- Understanding the policy making process
- Identifying ways policy making could be improved
- Campaign tools
Module 4: Getting elected
- Speeches in Parliament
- Delivering your stump speech in parliament
- Life in Parliament
Eligibility guidelines
To be eligible for the program you must be an Australian citizen/Australian permanent resident/holder of a permanent Humanitarian Visa, a female-identifying or non-binary in gender identification, and a Queensland resident.
Participants will be selected on a competitive basis against the following criteria:
- Commitment to seeking elected office.
- Leadership experience.
- Professional and life experience.
- Political engagement.
- Ability to tell your story in a compelling way.
Equity criteria
Pathways to Politics for Women is committed to minimising barriers to enter politics. As such, applicants identified by the selection committee as coming from an equity cohort will be prioritised. To be eligible to apply for a position in this equity category applicants must satisfy the application selection criteria, and also meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- Identify as LGBTQIA+
- Previous status as a refugee or current holder of a humanitarian visa
- Culturally and linguistically diverse background
- Disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances
- Disability or chronic medical condition
- Difficult personal circumstances
- Coming from a rural or isolated area.