Julia Gillard Has Criticised Gendered Attacks Against Hillary Clinton In A New Interview

When Julia Gillard was Prime Minister she experienced a disproportionate amount of personal attacks in the media, largely due to the fact she happened to be a woman in politics.  Now Gillard has used an interview on US television to blast the same kind of relentless sexism aimed at Hillary Clinton in the lead up to the US Presidential election.

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Gillard said that Clinton was being held to a different standard because she was a woman. “A different standard in all senses,” Gillard said. “The nature of the insults against her, in what has been a very ferocious campaign lacking any form of politeness or civility. The insults against her have often been gendered insults.

“I think there has been this question for her over likeability. One of the key issues her campaign wanted to deal with was the widely held perception that Hillary Clinton wasn’t likeable. I know Hillary Clinton, she’s incredibly likeable. And I think people have come to that conclusion partly through the prism of gender, partly because of this unconscious bias that a woman who’s up there must be a pretty tough sort.”

In the introduction to the interview, Zakaria referred to Gillard’s misogyny speech aimed at Tony Abbott as “Perhaps the most public rejoinder to sexism ever.” Gillard also discussed the under-representation of women in politics and said she was “very motivated to see that change”.

Gillard has been a long-time supporter of Clinton’s. Back in October last year when Clinton was yet to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, the former Prime Minister featured in a video talking up Clinton’s credentials. In July, Gillard wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times, comparing sexist attacks against Clinton to those she experienced during her term as PM.