How many banknotes feature women?

Around the world, a woman’s face on a banknote is a rarity but not in Australia where half of the people depicted on our banknotes are women.

Transcript

00:00 Revered figures and national heroes grace our currency, but exactly how many of them

00:06 are women?

00:07 A trade-assessed study of 115 countries revealed a surprising gender disparity with only 1

00:15 in 12 people depicted in banknotes being women.

00:20 Australia was recognised as the second-best country under the UK for representation of

00:26 women in banknotes.

00:29 Every single banknote in Australia includes a woman.

00:33 On the $5 note we have Queen Elizabeth II.

00:37 The $10 note has Mary Gilmore, an author, teacher and journalist who campaigned for

00:43 a wide range of social and economic reforms and was a founding member of the Fellowship

00:49 of Australian Writers.

00:51 Mary Rivey is on the $20 note.

00:54 The orphaned convict became a well-respected businesswoman.

00:58 The mother of seven solely managed a cargo business, shipping operations and a large

01:03 amount of land in Sydney and the Hawkesbury after her husband died.

01:08 On the $50 note we have Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to Australian Parliament who

01:14 campaigned for the protection of children and women's rights.

01:18 On the $100 note we have Dame Nellie Melba, a world-renowned soprano born in Melbourne

01:25 and had a spectacular range over three octaves.

01:30 A few countries don't have any women represented in their banknotes, including the United States,

01:37 North Korea, Russia, China, South Africa and India.

01:42 (upbeat music)

01:45 (upbeat music)