Institutionalising women’s experiences in law: Possibilities and pitfalls of parliamentary gender audit committees

Abstract

Feminist legal scholars have long recognised that law is gendered, being a manifestation of power that often works to the detriment of women. This need not be the case. This article tests the capacity of law to make a material difference on women’s lives through parliamentary auditing. The arguments springboard from an innovation emerging in Tasmania in 2022: a Gender and Equality Audit Committee in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. Alongside the Australian Capital Territory’s Standing Committee on the Economy and Gender and Economic Equality, these Australian examples provide a framework to interrogate the possibilities for inclusive, gendered legislative scrutiny.