Julia Gillard has spoken out about her biggest regret during her term as Australia’s first female Prime Minister.
During her time in the role Julia Gillard was subject to blatant sexist attacks from people such as Tony Abbott, who allegedly made speeches in front of placards saying ‘Ditch the B***h, and Alan Jones who said she should be put in a bag and thrown out to sea.
In a new interview with The Times Gillard said she made a mistake during her run by not acknowledging that being elected Australia’s first female prime minister was a landmark moment for the country. She believes that by speaking out about the sexism she faced, she could have helped others.
“I should have recognised that if I didn’t deal with it up front, it would build,” she said.
“In the early press conference I should have pulled up journalists and said ‘you never would have said that about a male prime minister.”
Gillard now believes that if she had spoken out about the occasion it might have emboldened women, particularly female commentators to condemn the misogyny thrown at her. she made headlines in 2012 when she stood up in parliament and gave a speech on sexism and misogyny.
In the speech, she addressed Tony Abbot saying “If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn’t need a motion … he needs a mirror.”
There is a long way to go for equality in politics though, not just in Australia but right around the world.
“There are elements of this in the treatment of women right around the world and we have yet to see it fully playing out in the context of the US presidential contest. But last time, when Hilary (Clinton) was against Barack Obama for the primary… there were things that were 100 per cent about gender,” Gillard said.
What do you think about Julia Gillard’s statment?
I love this hairstyle on Julia. Very flattering. Really suits her – modern and young.
Her biggest mistake was stabbing Kevin Rudd in the back.
Please tell me Kelly is being ironic?
This article seems very out of place in the otherwise normally excellent lifestyle publication, bmag.
Anyone who watched Parliamentary Question Time would know that Ms Gillard was quite capable of giving as good as she got (For instance, she once called Joe Hockey “Fatman” and taunted Christopher Pyne by calling him “a mincing poodle”).
As for the rather nasty, amateurishly-executed “Ditch the Witch” sign that popped up behind Tony Abbott while he was speaking at that Rally – he had no idea it was there – it wasn’t there when he first started speaking. Of course he would not have endorsed its message. He and Julia appeared to be the best of mates (and equals) when they used to appear together on Morning Television. Julia knows very well that Tony is not misogynist but Labor have allowed the myth to continue, and to project her as a victim as it suits their political purposes.
Australian men were not ready for a Female Leader. Australia, men and women were very unfair to Julia and we should never have treated any person in the manner Julia was treated. We need to understand that we do not have males and females on this planet, but Human Beings — equal in all ways.