Ruth McGowan on women exceeding men in Order of Australia awards

Ruth McGowan joined Carol Kiernan and Elizabeth Hartnell-Young in forming Honour A Woman in 2017 with the aim of having 50-50 male-female awardees by 2020.

Yesterday, for the first time since the Order of Australia awards were established in 1975, women received just over 50 per cent of the gongs.

Ms McGowan, sister of former Indi MP Cathy McGowan and past Gippsland mayor, welcomed the milestone but wants an enduring balance.

"We think it's great but progress isn't linear," Ms McGowan said.

"We can have one win but we've got to have the systems in place to sustain that and we're not there yet.

"There's inherent biases in the system that skew to older, white men getting the honours."

Ms McGowan it was important women honourees swelled for various reasons.

"Recognition matters because people can look up to those that have been honoured as role models and it also inspires other Australians," Ms McGowan said.

"It also helps the cause (of a recipient) a lot too.

"I've spoken to people and they say 'I didn't want this for myself but the fact it's given publicity for my cause is fantastic and I can walk into a room and talk with gravitas about my cause'."

Honour A Woman has boosted nominations via talks to groups, workshops and online guidance.

"It's a bit of a secret business putting up a nomination and the first step was raising people's awareness of how to do it," Ms McGowan said

Governor-General David Hurley has sought greater gender diversity and hailed females exceeding males.

"While we can take a moment to acknowledge the significance of achieving gender parity in our honours, it should not be a cause for pause," Mr Hurley said.

"We reflect on our progress, and then recommit our efforts to ensure nominations reflect our diverse and strong community."

Across the North East and Border, more men than women received laurels in the 2023 King's Birthday honours.

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