First woman appointed to a cabinet position

19 December 1949

Already the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, Dame Enid Lyons MP was appointed Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council in 1949. The Federal Executive Council is made up of ministers and the Governor-General and discusses government policies and actions. She was the first woman to be a member of the Council and to attend Cabinet meetings. However, as she had no ministerial portfolio – area of responsibility – it was, in her words, a ‘toothless position’.

It was not until 1966 with the appointment of Dame Annabelle Rankin as Minister for Housing that a woman led a government department. In 1976 Dame Margaret Guilfoyle became the first woman Cabinet minister with portfolio.