Women in the Western Australian Legislative Council

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There have been 54 women in the Western Australian Legislative Council since it began in 1832. Women could vote from 1899 and stand for election from 1920. The first female member was Ruby Hutchison, elected in 1954 for the Labor Party in Metropolitan-Suburban Province. When Hutchison retired in 1971, Lyla Elliott took her place. The first Liberal woman was Margaret McAleer in 1974, and the first Country Party woman was Winifred Piesse in 1977. In 1997, the first women from minor parties were elected: Helen Hodgson for the Australian Democrats, and Chrissy Sharp and Giz Watson for the Greens WA.