Gender quotas make women 'permanent second-class citizens': Bishop

Former Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop says gender quotas are "absolute anathema" because they turn women into "second-class citizens".

“When we go to the question of quotas – to me they are absolute anathema", she told Sky News host Gary Hardgrave.

“What the Liberal party is all about is equality of opportunity – not equality of outcome.

“The question of what’s going on in parliament house with regard to bad behaviour and the number of women who are in the parliament – are two separate things.

“There is a need to have women’s voices in the parliament because they look at things very often sometimes differently and they think about policies from a different perspective.

“You don’t go in there to be interested in women’s issues only- you are interested in those but it is right across the board.

“If you go the quota route – you make women permanent second-class citizens.”