At least half of all judicial and public board appointments must be women under the new state government commitment, which will be rolled out over the next four years.

Mr Andrews made the pledge at the Victorian Labor Party’s annual conference over the weekend, the first since the ALP won government last year.

Labor party delegate Jacinta Ermacora was at the conference and said the new measure would take affirmative action to a new level.

“Men and women often have different perspectives and this can only benefit the organisations they serve,” the former Warrnambool mayor said. 

“While women make up more than 50 per cent of our population, they are not equally represented in leadership. Fixing this problem won’t happen by accident.”

Data compiled earlier this year found only 61 out of 180 people serving on the region’s council, hospital, welfare and industry boards were women. This figure equated to a gender balance on south-west boards of 33.8 per cent female to 66.2 per cent male.

Warrnambool Labor party member Roy Reekie said gender equality on government boards would have a flow-on effect to the private sector.

The veteran solicitor said the gender imbalance in the legal profession had improved over the past decade but more work was necessary.

“It is getting better,” Mr Reekie said. 

“There are more female magistrates and judges but it’s still nowhere near 50 per cent. My hope is that this new policy can achieve true gender equality because progress has been too slow.”

Mr Reekie said there were more female solicitors than ever before and they deserved the same opportunities as their male counterparts. 

“To some extent, there still is a glass ceiling in law where young female solicitors are doing the bulk of the work while older male solicitors take the credit,” he said. 

“This policy will help to create a cultural shift.”

Under the Premier’s initiative, half of all future appointments to paid government boards and the courts must now be women between now and November 2018.

Cr Ermacora said the affirmative action initiative would better recognise the contribution of women in the workplace.

“The history of Warrnambool is often told from the male perspective about male actors,” she said. 

“We name our roads and places after men and we put mostly men in leadership roles. If young girls don’t see women in leadership roles they won’t aspire to leadership.”