‘Julia Gillard speaks in London in memory of Jo Cox MP‘, Julia Gillard, 11 October 2016 (updated)
As well as being a tribute to the assassinated British Labour MP this is a wide-ranging speech on women in politics.
Activism is wonderful and it serves an important role in our democracy. But if you want to see real change and you want to see it endure, then politics is where you need to be … I genuinely believe that politics is a noble calling, not a grubby, necessary evil … There are so many women in our communities who could serve with distinction: we need to help them to get into parliament and to be proud to be political.
She looks in detail at her career in politics.
Obviously, any one contending for high office has to be scrutinised and tested and no gender analysis should be taken to mean that female candidates should be immune from criticism. But these gendered references are the antithesis of valid critiques and there is a responsibility that lies on everyone’s shoulders – men and women – to make sure in any political campaign that criticism is not gender based, that it is not about precluding a woman from leading simply because she is a woman.
