With women so underrepresented in politics across the globe, it can sometimes be hard to see the impact female leaders have when they deliver positive outcomes for their communities. Here in Australia, the presence of women politicians is definitely growing, but there is still a long way to go before gender parity is achieved.

That’s why it’s so important for us to recognise and celebrate the progress we have made, as well as the contributions female political leaders make everyday.

One recent achievement that is well worth celebrating comes from two female politicians who have been recognised with a prestigious political leadership prize in Australia.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, and independent MP Dr Helen Haines, are the recipients of the 2022 McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership.

They were selected for their  “genuine impact” in advancing a political vision in Australia, as well as their commitment to collaboration, building connection, respect and trust at a local, and in the case of Wong, an international level.

Wong is one of Australia’s most senior politicians, and was awarded the McKinnon Prize for Political Leader of the Year for the swift progress she has made on Australia’s foreign policy agenda since the election of the Albanese government in May 2022. The selection panel, made up of distinguished Australian leaders, said Wong has worked “respectfully to enhance important bilateral relationships in a challenging geopolitical environment”.

“Penny Wong is a true statesperson and has consistently represented Australia’s best interests through her calm yet commanding diplomacy. She is highly effective internationally and displays the values Australian’s respect in their political leaders,” said selection panellist, the Hon John Brumby AO.

“Penny has shifted the tone of Australia’s international dialogues and relationships for the better.”

Wong is the only politician to have received the McKinnon Prize for Political Leader of the Year twice, having first been named in 2018.

Meanwhile Dr Helen Haines was named Emerging Political Leader of the Year, with the selection panel noting her commitment to integrity in politics, and her work pursuing a “community-driven” approach.

The panel said Haines was dedicated to serving her local constituency and connecting them to her national policy work, as demonstrated through her pursuit of a national integrity commission, and “subsequent consensus building over time”.

Selection panellist Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM, said: “Helen wasn’t the only one to have made integrity an issue, but what was truly outstanding was the way in which she gradually built support across her community and across the broader parliamentary community.”

“Politics is the art of the possible, and that’s something that you can be dismissive of, but what she did was to find a way to walk a path through all the competing groups and ended up with a policy position that everybody could come in behind,” Dr Parkinson said. 

“Helen did something unusual in that she engaged her local community on the integrity principles. It showed proper grassroots democracy. She took up an issue – that for many people was probably distant – and gave them a mechanism whereby they could contribute.”

Dr Haines made history when she was elected in 2019, becoming the first independent candidate to ever succeed an independent MP in the same electorate. She did so in the regional Victorian electorate of Indi, where she was elected following the retirement of Cathy McGowan. 

“It is the honour of a lifetime to represent the people of Indi in the Federal Parliament, and it is the people of Indi who have spurred me on in my work to improve integrity, accountability and transparency in federal politics,” Dr Haines said upon accepting the award.