A couple of beliefs that underly my thinking on this
- Overall I don't believe that there is a gender imbalance in ability to do a cabinet ministers job. The same with most other things not reliant on specific physical characteristics. Then tend to even out over a large sample.
- Ability is unlikely to be evenly spread within a small grouping. Eg a proportional represenation from any grouping within a group the size of the LNP's elected members is unlikely to be purely based on ability.

I do however find it very unlikely that the skew in ability is such that of all the LNP's elected members only one female fit's within that "top" grouping deemed to be the best. About as likely as a cabinet based on ability that only have one male in it. The size of the disparity does not look a lot like appointments based purely on ability.

Some skew is to be expected, if not it's probably appointments about factions rather than ability but the size of this skew suggests that ability may have been passed over as well.

R0bert

So mikk, il ask you these questions directly.

What women within the coalition should be appointed to the front bench, why should they be appointed, and who should they replace, and why?

May I suggest that if you can't answer these SIMPLE questions, then you are simply playing the equality card.

If women formed their own party or voted as a bloc they could have over half the seats in parliament occupied by their own gender.
The context for women taking charge of a nation's affairs is crisis, when the men are dead or absent or a society which has broken down completely, this is why people, especially women didn't take to Gillard.
Another point to be made is that "Traditionalism" is the other feminism, the conservatives as exemplified by Abbott and in particular Islam are as female focused as the left, it's just that Feminism is female supremacy where the tradcons believe in female superiority. Feminism puts the needs of women and their children at the top of society in a formal sense, traditionalists view the woman as the goddess on her pedestal or the priestess/vestal virgin but both view women as those who are to receive tributes and favors and dispense blessings upon those beneath them. Neither side treats women as agents of their own destiny and to a great extent both infantilise women and objectify them, women are simply those who are acted upon and must be formally recognised as a protected class of person or idealised and cloistered in a temple(or behind a veil),like a marble Venus. Nike is powerful but she's the ethereal and untouchable virgin dispensing favours to the bravest and most noble warriors, Feminist woman is also portrayed as power incarnate but she too is untouchable by the mortal man except when she should choose to favour the ones she finds most suitable.

Come on boys, why don't you answer RObert's very balanced and fair post above?

He is right in saying that the front bench certainly seems 'skewed' towards the male pollies.
Is the Liberal party really so berefit of good female pollies? Surely not.

And no Rehctub, I can't name the female pollies that should have sat at the front bench because none of their women have ever been allowed out to show us their stuff!
They have never been given the chance .

How are female pollies supposed to get this 'wealth of experience' if they are never given a chance? How did the boys start out?

If you think it is just your hated 'feminists' upset about this disgusting turn of events, then think again.
The over 50% of female voters do not all identify themselves as feminists, but I wouldn't mind betting the vast majority are upset with such an obvious disdane by our new he-man PM for female pollies from all sides of parliament.

rehctub

It is not up to me to decide it is up to tony abbott. And his decision is that none of the women, endorsed by him as candidates and elected by the australian people, are worthy of being ministers. Aside from julie bishop of course. It is that very failing that I condemn the rabbott for. He and his party chose the candidates and obviously they did a pretty bad job. OR he refuses to elevate talented women MPs which makes him a misogynistic prick just like gillard said he was.

Either way its a pretty crappy start.

So, the Cabinet was chosen for its talent, eh.

Two words.

Barnaby Joyce.

We're doomed.