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The role of women in Victorian education

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Women have been the heart of Victoria’s schools since the 1800s. They started by teaching in tents and are now leading schools across the state. They have taught through hardship and fought for fair pay and respect.

Early pioneers: 1800s

Before 1872, women taught in both church and government-funded schools. Like male teachers, they worked alone in small one-teacher schools in cities and remote towns.

When the Education Department was created in 1872, women made up about half of all teachers. However, they were paid less than men and were not allowed to apply for senior jobs.

During the gold rush, women taught in calico tents in difficult conditions on Victoria’s goldfields. One example is Margaret Miller, who brought education to the children of Campbells Creek in 1853. At that time, women teachers could be married or single.

In 1899, during an economic depression, the government banned married women from teaching. In larger schools, single women could take on the role of Infant Mistresses — a supervisor role that did not require teaching. For many years, this was one of the few ways women could be promoted.

The rule requiring women to resign from permanent service when they married continued until 1956.

The early push for equality: 1900–1920s

In 1901, after Australia’s federation, women gained the right to vote and the right to stand for parliament. Women teachers were active in Australia’s first campaigns for equal rights. They pushed for the right to vote and for equal pay. At this time, Women teachers represented the largest professional group involved in the first-wave feminist movement.

In 1905, the first government secondary school opened. It was a coeducational school called the Continuation School. The principal was, of course, male, but Marjorie Robertson was promoted to head mistress and was in charge of supervising the girls at the school.

Kindergarten teaching also began during this period, led by forward-thinking educators. All kindergarten teachers were women, and although the work was low-paid and often undervalued, it was one of the few professional areas where women could hold leadership roles.

Highlights

Barriers and breakthroughs: 1920s–1940s

By the 1920s, new Domestic Arts Schools for girls opened across Victoria. Women led these schools, but were not allowed to head co-educational or primary schools until the late 1960s.

Important women

Many women teachers felt frustrated that their male colleagues did not support equal pay. Some men believed that equal pay would threaten their jobs. Because of this, many women joined the Public Service Union, which they felt offered better support than the male dominated teachers unions.

Equal pay takes shape: 1940s–1960s

World War II, migration, and the baby boom led to a major teacher shortage. Because schools needed more staff, married women were rehired as “temporary” teachers but paid less.

By the 1940s, women earned about 80% of men’s wages, but temporary teachers earned less. The teacher shortage continued through the 1950s, so temporary teachers remained part of the workforce.

Change through activism

Momentum for equal pay grew across unions and government. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) launched a national equal pay campaign, and Hilma Cranley helped organise national conferences on the issue. The Victorian Teachers Union (VTU) formed its own Equal Pay Committee in 1959. Around this time, The Age reported that 77 of 82 countries already had equal pay for teachers.

Despite this, progress in Victoria stalled. The Premier and the Teachers’ Tribunal argued over who had the authority to approve equal pay.

Betty Lawson, president of the Technical Teachers Union, believed they needed public attention. She and other community leaders built strong political pressure for change. Together, they organised the Talk Out Equality for Women conference in 1967. This attracted hundreds of participants and helped push the issue forward. In 1969, after years of union pressure, the Teachers’ Tribunal agreed to bring in equal pay by 1972.

That same year, women could finally apply for principal roles at co-educational secondary schools. The title “headmaster” was no longer used.

In 1970, Molly Brennan and Betty Lawson (Stevenson) became the first women appointed to these principal roles. Their jobs were first given to less-qualified men, but both women appealed these decisions and won..

Family rights and leadership gaps: 1970s–1980s

Once pay equality was achieved, women fought for family rights and fair promotion:

Year Reform Change
1961 Unpaid maternity leave Up to 18 months of unpaid leave allowed
1975 Paid maternity leave Three months’ paid leave introduced
1984 Permanent part-time workPaid maternity leave Service continuity protected (allowed up to 7 years ‘family leave’)16 weeks paid leave introduced
1985–88 Senior leadership Women appointed to top education roles

Superannuation and leadership: progress and gaps

For many years, superannuation rules were unfair to women. Since 1925, all Victorian teachers could join the State Public Service Superannuation Scheme. But women had to leave the scheme when they married.

In 1968, they were allowed to join a separate fund called the Married Women’s Superannuation Fund. However, the system was still treated them differently. For example, if a male member died, his benefits automatically went to his dependents. If a woman died, her dependents had to prove they relied on her financially before they could receive payment.

Persistent campaigning during the 1970s and 1980s helped create a single superannuation scheme. Although the system became fairer, gender gaps in retirement savings remain.

By the 1980s, almost twenty years had passed since the equal pay was introduced. Even so, few women held senior positions. Women made up only:

It was not until the mid-80s that a woman led any education department in Australia.

1985

1988

Today

Women now make up 76% of the teaching service in the Education Department of Victoria. They hold:

Pay is now equal and women hold more leadership roles than ever before.

This content is based on the writings of Dr Deborah Towns OAM.

Dr Deborah Towns OAM is an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Melbourne. A former teacher and public servant, she is a sociologist, historian and author.

Updated 27 March 2026

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