I asked a number of Gen Y female entrepreneurs on social media the following two questions:

1. What are your top 3 issues for the election?

2. Are you engaged, disengaged or disillusioned with the current election campaign? Why?

Please note that I did not purposely exclude men, I simply had the opportunity to ask women who were part of a female businesswomen and entrepreneurs’ special interest group, and I was specifically interested in what young people thought, so I seized the opportunity.

Respondents included single and married women, young mothers, single mothers, Aboriginal women, from Sydney and Melbourne, and others who did not identify their geographic location. They were aged 24 – 35, for those who included their age.

Top election issues in order of importance included:

• Refugee Immigration policies, including asylum seekers and re-settlement

• Marriage Equality and the LGBT Bill being passed

• Infrastructure, including access to high-speed Internet via NBN for everyone

• Affordability and accessibility of education for all Australians, both university and VET education costs

• Health care (Medicare, Bulk Billing)

• Climate Change

• Corporate tax dodgers

A selection of the comments made in relation to the election and current political leaders:

• Disengaged! And I used to work in policy. I feel like after the past few years we have been in a non stop federal election, and I’m over it. I want one leader (happy with Malcolm and I used to be an ALP voter) to be in the role long enough to see policy through. The public and politicians seem to have forgotten with the 24hr news cycle and polls that it takes years to plan and implement good policy. We are talking about governing a country not an SME. I must say one thing I am engaged with is the slightly different tones in this campaign. I’m happy that the Libs are using mature adult like rhetoric, and SO OVER THE ALPs messaging being focused on negativity rather than policy and outcomes.

• I am so severely disenchanted by both major parties election campaigns. Neither leaders seem to have the balls to actually confront the cultural and generational issues we are becoming so exhausted by. The mining boom is fading, and I have no idea how any party is hoping to regenerate budget prosperity for the next generation. The weakest election I’ve ever known.

• Mostly concerned with better refugee policies (I am anti offshore processing) and LGBT rights need to be passed. On QA last week the way they answered that guy sums up why I am disillusioned and feel politicians are completely out of touch with real people’s issues.

• I find the whole system disenchanting. Pollies spout out promises that they don’t keep once elected. They back stab each other, and in parliament they behave like high school boys being rude and disrespectful of each other. Pollies don’t give direct answers to questions posed of them, and in my book if you don’t have an answer to a question it’s because you have something to hide.

• If only we could adopt Barack Obama and have his steady leadership.

• Feeling a bit disengaged this year, because there are so many awful things going on around the world, not just in our country. So even access to high-speed Internet seems to be silly, even though it’s important to me. With all the terrorism going on, Australian politics seems… irrelevant.

So we must now ask the questions:

• Are political leaders listening to the public?

• Are they listening to young Gen Ys who make up approximately 31% of the workforce?

• Are they listening to women who make up 52% of the 

• population, 46% of the full-time workforce, and Gen Y women now comprise 60% of all university graduates?

Based on what we are hearing and witnessing on the election campaigns of both leaders of the two major political parties, and comparing it to the top election issues for Gen Y women, I would say No, No and again No to the three questions posed.

So why should we vote for either Mr Shorten or Mr Turnbull if what matters to thepublic is not of relevance and importance to either leader or major party? Just asking? And clearly there are many asking the same question.

Time to listen leaders!