Women are under-represented as candidates in the federal election and many are confronted with a 'glass cliff', contesting hard-to-win seats for the major parties.
An Australian National University report has found fewer women than men are running in the May 3 poll and many of those face an uphill battle to secure a place in the next parliament.
"Across both major parties, women candidates are more likely to be placed in more challenging, 'glass cliff' seats compared to men," report co-author Elise Stephenson said.
Only one in six - 16 per cent - of coalition female candidates are in safe or fairly safe seats, compared to 28 per cent of men.
Half of the women running for Labor are contesting safe or fairly safe seats, a significant increase from 24 per cent in 2022.
However, women continue to be over-represented in less-secure Labor electorates.
"While 57 per cent of men who are Labor candidates are running in safe or fairly safe seats, only 50 per cent of women have the same advantage," Dr Stephenson said.
"Despite being outnumbered overall, Labor men still have a better shot at winning their seats."
A Liberal Party review of the 2022 election - where many previously blue-ribbon seats were lost to female independent candidates - found the party had significantly lower levels of support among women.
It recommended all divisions increase female membership, particularly of women under 50.
The review also called on the party to have many more high-quality women contesting winnable seats at the next election.
In 2021, former Liberal Party member Jemma Tribe sought pre-selection in the NSW south coast seat of Gilmore but was asked to step aside in favour of former NSW minister Andrew Constance.
It felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath her, Ms Tribe said.
"I don't think pre-selectors are representative of the broader communities' view ... the message from the 2022 election has fallen on deaf ears," she told AAP.
"I'm not surprised to hear that not only are there less female candidates this year, but they're in less in winnable positions ... when I sought pre-selection it felt like the cards were stacked against me."
The Liberal Party has selected women candidates in Bradfield, Warringah and Kooyong, who all face challenges from high-profile independents.
While women make up 56 per cent of Labor candidates, less than a third of the coalition's candidates are women.
There was a notable increase in Labor women this election compared to the last one, which had 46 per cent female candidates.
"The coalition, however, continues to lag behind, with only a marginal improvement from the previous election where only 29 per cent of candidates were women compared to 32 per cent this election," Dr Stephenson said.
There is also an ongoing issue of diversity, with women running in this election less likely to be from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, have a disability or belong to the LGBTQI communities than male candidates.
