Michaelia Cash knows first-hand that women experience a tougher brand of politics than men.
"You only have to go on Twitter to see what people say about my hair, everyone knows that," the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women says.
But while her staff, brother and father - the former West Australian state MP George Cash - have suggested she ignore her Twitter mentions, Cash has a look anyway.
"I'm very lucky, I've got a thick skin," she says from her office at Parliament House ahead of International Women's Day.
Indeed, Cash lives by Margaret Thatcher's maxim on the matter: "If they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left."
But the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women notes that others may not be as resilient and the treatment of women MPs can turn others off a career in politics.
"There are going to be young girls and women who actually see what is said about a female's physical appearance and the judgment that is made as opposed to what is said about a man and that does make it more difficult for them."
However Cash, who is also the Assistant Minister for Immigration and was a corporate lawyer before entering the Senate for Western Australia, hopes that young women and girls see her as a role model.
"I'm very confident, I love what I do. I don't listen to the criticism and I would always encourage young women and girls to think about a political career."
Cash agrees with the widespread assessment that Australia needs more women in Federal Parliament.
"One of the reasons that we want gender equality is because lo and behold, 50 per cent of the world's population is female," she says.
There are two women in the Abbott cabinet and a further six - including Cash - among the outer ministry and parliamentary secretaries. In Federal Parliament only 30.5 per cent of MPs and senators are female, while Australia's international ranking in terms of representation across all parliaments has slipped from 20th in 2001 to 48th in 2014.
Along with an improvement in the way women are treated in politics, Cash says that childcare needs to be reformed to enable women to make the leap. But these changes alone are not enough.
Her message to women who are thinking about a political career is simple: "Put your hand up".
"It is about saying to women, whether they're younger women, older women, you need to be part of the solution – put your hand up."
Unlike the Labor Party, the Liberal Party does not have quotas for female representation and Cash is happy with this arrangement. She argues having women imposed on certain seats or positions will not result in true cultural change.
So she calls on men and women in the Liberal Party to look for more women to stand for preselection.
"Go out and find candidates. But find good ones."
She says it is "absolutely" important that women are seen as ambitious in politics, just like the men: this is how things get done in electorates and the Parliament.
Asked if she herself is ambitious, Cash replies, "I don't think anyone comes to this place and doesn't have ambition!"
But while she notes that she has had a relatively quick rise through the Coalition ranks so far, achieving a frontbench spot just 18 months after entering Parliament in 2008, it has not simply been ambition or luck that got her there.
"I would have to say: hard work."
