11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

1. On how she chose to conduct herself immediately after losing the Prime Ministership: 

Gillard thought it best to “give a gift of silence to the Labor party throughout the course of the campaign; to do absolutely nothing”.

2. On the key difference between herself and Kevin Rudd:

“I think the key difference is every day I was deputy prime minister I spent all of my time doing everything I could to have the Labor government prosper.”

3. On seeing sexist and offensive cartoons and statements about herself on social media:

She felt not sadness or hurt but, ”more like murderous rage really”.

“For my personal liberty, it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t focus on them… At the end of the day, yes, it happened to me, but it’s not, you know, about me. It’s about all of us, about women and about the kind of society we want to be for all of us.”

4. On playing the so-called ‘gender card’:

“It just amazes me that we can be having this infantile conversation about gender wars, and … you just feel like saying: ‘Well, if it was your daughter and she was putting up with sexist abuse at work, what would you advise her to do?’” Gillard said.

“Because apparently if she complains, she is playing the victim, and playing gender wars, and if she doesn’t complain, then she really is a victim.”

5. On what an average day was like in her job as Prime Minister:

Gillard would go through the papers in the morning, remaking most days to her Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan: “Polls are **bleep**. Papers are **bleep**. Yep, yes they are, Wayne.”

6. On what advice she would give to new Prime Minister Tony Abbott:

“It is a big step from criticising what you think is wrong to working out and implementing what you think is right. On current indications, Prime Minister Abbott is intending to take that step slowly. And for all of us, I think that might well be a good thing.”

7. On whether she would like to see Hillary Clinton run for the American Presidency in 2016:

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic to follow the first African American president, with the first woman president?”

8. On what advice she would give Tony Abbott now that’s he’s brought the women’s portfolio within his own Government department.

“Ask Tanya [Plibersek].”

9. On how she managed to stay motivated in the face of “horrible sexism”:

Gillard first responded to the question, asked by an 11-year-old girl, cautioning: ”I now need to answer [the question] not using words that are inappropriate… How old are you again?”

She continued, “In moments of some, you know, stress and pressure, for example, when I was getting myself together to go out and give my final speech as Prime Minister, I certainly did say to myself that I wouldn’t give those people the satisfaction of seeing me shed a tear – I wouldn’t do that.”

10. On whether she would encourage women to think about pursuing politics:

If she could go back and advise another woman in her own position – about to be the nation’s first female PM – Gillard said she “…would still say to her: do it. Because the benefits of what you get to do are far superior to the burdens”

11. On what it will be like for Australia’s next female Prime Minister:

“I think even people who may not remember me as a good PM, I think for whoever the next woman is, there will be a bit of a pause, breathe, whatever else this female Prime Minister does, we don’t want it to be like that for her again.”

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Voltaire: “Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” .
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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

Icyfroth wrote:Women need to show themselves ABOVE crude sexist jokes to be respected

 

I can't respect that

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

I can't believe some of the comments on this thread, i'm shocked by the attitudes of some.

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

So Icy if someone was aiming offensive stuff at you in the workplace, you would ignore it? Really? That goes against what I was instructed to do in that situation.
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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.


@debra9275 wrote:

Goodness!!

I was thinking the opposite 

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

Just a figure of speech that expresses how I feel Iza


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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.


@icyfroth wrote:

@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

@icyfroth wrote:

@***super_nova*** wrote:

 

Ms Gillard needed to "man up" to it, otherwise prove herself not equal to the "boys club"!

 

 


Oh, you must be joking!  Do you mean that women have to put up with crude sexist insults to be respected? 


No I'm not joking. Women need to show themselves ABOVE crude sexist jokes to be respected.


So how do you  suggest that women who are subjected to lewd, sexist jokes in their workplace should show themselves to be ABOVE them - by ignoring them?


Yes and by focussing on their policies.

Focusing on policy is fine - Most workplaces have a policy regarding sexual harrassment - but they can't enforce it if women simply ignore sexist behaviour.

 

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.


@purplecarrot-top wrote:
So Icy if someone was aiming offensive stuff at you in the workplace, you would ignore it? Really? That goes against what I was instructed to do in that situation.

In my workplace, Purps?

If I showed myself not equal to the task assigned, I would be seen as a disappointment.

Forever to be looked down upon as not equal to the task.

Hence, I do my best to stay ahead of expections.

It works.

Ms Gillard should have lived up to expections instead of villifying her successor.

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.


@icyfroth wrote:

@purplecarrot-top wrote:
So Icy if someone was aiming offensive stuff at you in the workplace, you would ignore it? Really? That goes against what I was instructed to do in that situation.

In my workplace, Purps?

If I showed myself not equal to the task assigned, I would be seen as a disappointment.

Forever to be looked down upon as not equal to the task.

Hence, I do my best to stay ahead of expections.

It works.

Ms Gillard should have lived up to expections instead of villifying her successor.


So if one of your workmates felt you were not equal to the task assigned,  would it  be OK for him to pin a cartoon on the notice board depicting you wearing a dildo and preparing to **bleep** him?

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.

If she could not control the way the conversation was going then she could not control the country which has been proven.

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Re: 11 quotes from Julia Gillard’s interview.


@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

@icyfroth wrote:

@purplecarrot-top wrote:
So Icy if someone was aiming offensive stuff at you in the workplace, you would ignore it? Really? That goes against what I was instructed to do in that situation.

In my workplace, Purps?

If I showed myself not equal to the task assigned, I would be seen as a disappointment.

Forever to be looked down upon as not equal to the task.

Hence, I do my best to stay ahead of expections.

It works.

Ms Gillard should have lived up to expections instead of villifying her successor.


So if one of your workmates felt you were not equal to the task assigned,  would it  be OK for him to pin a cartoon on the notice board depicting you wearing a dildo and preparing to **bleep** him?


You know, she-el, I'd get over it and get on with my job!

 

 

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