Whitlam, Women, & Higher Education

By Una Corbett

Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam considered his education policy reform program to be the “most enduring single achievement” of his threeyear government.

Whitlam saw education as a public good, the animating force of an equal society and a healthy democracy.

This philosophy drove his decision to abolish all fees for tertiary study in 1974, paving the way for fifteen years of free higher education in Australia.

Although the statistical impacts of Whitlam's education policy were mixed, it’s hard to overstate its cultural resonance –particularly for Australian women. Whitlam’s personal papers, housed in the Whitlam Institute’s Prime Ministerial Collection, contain dozens of letters and messages from women who felt that free tertiary education opened doors for them and for their families that would have otherwise remained closed.

The Australian higher education system reached student gender parity in 1987, and women now outnumber men at Australian universities.

But the women entering the Australian higher education system today encounter a dramatically different landscape than the generations of women who came before them.

University fees were reintroduced in 1989 and have risen since, along with student debt levels.

Reduced government funding has pushed tertiary institutions to compete for students and research grants, cut staff and casualise positions, and corporatise functions.

These changes uniquely and disproportionately impact women.

Whitlam himself said that the “overarching principle” and “unifying theme” of his public work could be stated in two words: “contemporary relevance.”

2022 marked fifty years since Whitlam’s election.

This milestone prompts us to consider the immediate and intergenerational impacts of Whitlam’s education policies.

But anniversaries aren’t just moments to reflect: they’re opportunities to look forward.

This year, as the new Albanese government convenes a Universities Accord intended to “drive lasting and transformative reform in Australia’s higher education system,” it’s critical that the voices of Australian women in higher education – over the past fifty years and today – are at the forefront of the conversation.

In Their Own Words: Women of the Whitlam Education Era

For my Fulbright research at the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University, I analysed qualitative data from two sample groups: women who experienced fee-free tertiary study under the Whitlam reforms, and women pursuing tertiary study today.

For sample group #1, I conducted textual analysis of letters and messages in the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Archives, drawing connections between Whitlam’s policy reforms and the affective experiences of the women who lived them. For sample group #2, I interviewed 16 Australian women who are higher education students today.

Interviewees were asked to reflect on their journeys to university, how they felt about their time there, and their experiences with fees and debt.

They spoke about why higher education mattered to them and what changes they might make to the Australian higher education system, given the chance.

I analysed interview transcripts to distil key themes and map continuity and change from the Whitlam era to today.

The following is a summary of my findings, from a Whitlam Institute legacy paper to be published in 2023.

Key Themes From Archival Sample

1. Women who attended university for free post-Whitlam reforms expressed that free tertiary education helped them escape poverty, achieve economic mobility, and succeed professionally.

2. More intrinsically, free tertiary education was a route to selfactualization and what one woman called “spiritual independence.”

3. Women felt their tertiary study allowed them to give back to their communities and contribute to social good

4. Women cited how their educational achievement led to intergenerational advancement and success for their families. But they criticised how today’s tertiary students don’t have access to fee-free study, a policy shift that these women felt was limiting the opportunities of the next generation.

Key Themes From Interview Sample

1. Current students who expressed satisfaction with their university experiences pointed to student body diversity, strong student support services, a sense of belonging to a community, and a perception that the university facilitated strong workforce connections.

2. Students who expressed dissatisfaction with their university experiences pointed to inadequate workforce connections and job preparation, funding cuts that contributed to a decline in the quality of academic offerings and student supports, and the absence of campus community.

3. Roughly half the interviewees expressed substantial personal worry about the impact of tertiary fees and debt on their lives, while other interviewees were more ambivalent about the HECS system

4. Like the women in the Whitlam archives, interviewees thought higher education was important because it served as a route to class mobility and professional advancement, a force for self-actualization, empowerment, and enlightenment in their own lives, and a tool that allows citizens to give back to their communities and benefit society

5. But interviewees struggled to balance the desire to use their higher education to pursue their passions and give back to society with the practical pressure to use their tertiary studies to get a good job and reap economic benefits, particularly given the high costs of tertiary study.

6. Many worried that the challenges facing higher education today – rising fees and debt, lack of funding, and lack of adequate support for students –meant its benefits were becoming out of reach for many Australians.

Policy Recommendations from Student Interviews:

1. Eleven interviewees expressed that higher education should be free for students.The remaining five said fees should be lowered, government funding should be increased, or study should be otherwise restructured to make it more affordable for students.

2. Interviewees emphasised the need to provide better living allowances for students, in addition to lowering fees.

3. Interviewees also advocated for better mental health supports, gender-based violence prevention, more diverse curricula, and culturally informed teaching.

4. Interviewees said institutions should treat university staff better and give workers and students more of a voice in leadership.

5. Interviewees called for expanded access to internships and other ways of bridging the gap between universities and the workforce. They sought an integration of TAFE and university that rejected constructed hierarchies between different institutions and forms of learning.

What Can We Learn From These Voices?

As we see from both historical and contemporary accounts, one of the most important legacies of the Whitlam reforms was affective, qualitative culture change. Many Australian women, particularly young women, who received free tertiary education in the Whitlam years were instilled with the lasting belief that the government could change their lives.

My interviews with current students showed that Australian women still believe in the power of higher education to empower individuals and foster social change.

But they worry that, without meaningful policy change, this transformative power will be lost to Australian citizens and society.

As Australian leaders reassess the university sector and its relationship between government, tertiary education, and the public, it’s crucial they listen to those with the most at stake – the students.

It’s time to deliver on the promise of higher education for another generation of Australian women.

UNA CORBETT

graduated from Harvard University in 2020 with a B.A. in History and Literature. She developed an interest in gender history and policy in postcolonial states when she conducted a research project on gender, historical memory, and Irish culture as a study abroad student at Trinity College Dublin.

Una's 2021 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship, Funded by Western Sydney University enabled her to undertake research at the Whitlam Institute focused on women in higher education and Indigenous rights under the Whitlam government.