Challenging the political status quo through jobsharing

Tomorrow (Saturday 3rd May) marks the Australian elections – and a perfect time to shine a light on a powerful, innovative approach to politics we featured in our podcast last summer.

In Episode 5 of Jobshare Stories, we were joined by Bronwen Bock and Lucy Bradlow who – at that point – were on a mission to run for federal office in the Melbourne seat of Higgins. This certainly isn’t the first time jobsharing has been explored by politicians – in the UK, Clare Phipps and Sarah Cope attempted to stand as MPs in 2015 but their request was rejected and their challenge to the high court failed.

So, whilst not exceptional, Bronwen & Lucy’s case is certainly exceptional - and it was a fascinating conversation with them.

(To find out more about the UK political context, read this excellent report by The Fawcett Society  https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=bb90467f-174b-4f68-801a-4ae04e4fd33c)

A Vision for Inclusive Leadership

Bronwen and Lucy's partnership is rooted in a shared commitment to redefining leadership in politics. Bronwen, a mother of three and former investment banker, faced the challenge of balancing part-time work with leadership roles. Lucy, a political communications specialist and former lawyer, recognized the need for more inclusive political representation. They believe that a jobshare partnership allows them to better serve their constituents – and by making the case for jobsharing in parliament, they can drive better representation of the people they want to serve. Their innovative approach seeks to make parliament more accessible to individuals who cannot commit to the traditional full-time, 70-hour workweeks. By job-sharing, they aim to demonstrate that flexible work arrangements can lead to effective and inclusive governance.

Bronwen and Lucy have extensive experience in business and politics and have seen firsthand the power of collaborative leadership. There are many examples of jobsharing in senior roles in Australia and the pair believe that "parliament should be like any other workplace, where it's possible to work flexibly, job share, and therefore have different faces of leadership." This message aligns with the growing recognition that flexible work arrangements can enhance productivity and inclusivity across various sectors.

An innovative approach to jobsharing

Unlike many jobshares – where the week is split in half, with each partner working a part of each week – the political partnership would work very differently. Bronwen and Lucy’s proposal was for a “one week on, one week off” model – whereby each week they switch who is working. Whoever is working that week would return from Canberra (home to the Australian parliament) to Melbourne and they’d connect on a Friday – handing over the laptop, the phone and all the information required to allow the other to seamlessly transition and pick up where they left off! Whilst this may be a unique approach, it has real merit in a role where travel is a pre-requisite and often a limiting factor for women with caring responsibilities. (For context, Melbourne to Canberra is a 660km journey).

What happened next

In our podcast conversation, Lucy and Brownen talked about their confidence that the legal case could be made – and their hope that the legal loopholes could be worked through prior to the election.

However, in a devastating blow, only weeks after recording the podcast – the Melbourne seat of Higgins – where the pair work and live – was abolished as part of a national redistribution of voting seats. However, despite this set back, the adaptable pair ploughed on. They decided to run for the Australian senate and, in order to stand as senatorial candidates, they founded their own political party – the “Better Together Party” – and signed up 1500 members in a couple of months. They also had a clear win in the court when they got a “protective costs order” – effectively meaning if they lost their case, they counterparty couldn’t claim for costs – a sign of the merit of their case.

So, whilst progress was being made, sadly, Bronwen and Lucy’s jobsharing run for 2025 came to an end in March – after the election was called and there was simply not enough time to clear the legal issues before the ballot. Throughout the campaign they said they would only run if it were as a jobshare pair, so whilst individually they could have run a single candidates, they decided to end their campaign.

Their campaign really showed what could be possible and shone a bright light on the power of collaboration, co-leadership and jobsharing.

As they said in their final release to supporters – it’s the end of the road but not the end of the journey. We’ve been so impressed by everything Bronwen and Lucy have done to challenge the status quo in Australia and we know we’re going to see more of them. (And Aussie election cycles are only 3 years – so watch out for 2028!)

Listen now

If you want to hear more about the drivers for their trailblazing campaign, how they would make jobsharing work in parliament and the importance of increasing representation in politics, do check out episode 5 of Jobshare Stories, wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to Episode 5: Driving Representation in Politics with Lucy Bradlow and Bronwen Bock

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