Thread by @MelbWritersFest, Join us in ten minutes for our second event this evening, a [...]

Join us in ten minutes for our second event this evening, a conversation between @JuliaGillard and @PatsKarvelas #mwfdigital https://twitter.com/MelbWritersFest/status/1293059738641395713">https://twitter.com/MelbWrite...

https://twitter.com/MelbWritersFest/status/1293059738641395713

& #39;I want to start the conversation with an apology of sorts. Journalists like me watched the revolting sexist treatment you endured with a sense of disbelief about how to deal with it. We didn& #39;t speak up more.& #39; – @PatsKarvelas #mwfdigital

& #39;I wrote this book for women – young women, in particular, might still be thinking of their career paths and women in the mid-to-upper career range who can make a difference. I also wrote it for corporate leaders.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;We started this book with a hypothesis: how much of sexism and attitude towards women leaders is about culture and context, and how much of it is universal?& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;Whether it was women leaders from New Zealand, the US, the UK, Liberia, Malawi or Chile, they all reported that they felt this disproportionate focus on their appearance.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;Many of them used the same tools to
solve it, which was to try and adopt a standard look so they didn& #39;t look very different each day.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;I was disturbed by Jacinda Ardern saying she didn& #39;t think things would& #39;ve turned out the same way for her in Australia due to our media and political system. I& #39;m Australian and I& #39;d like to see more women in leadership in the country& #39; – @PatsKarvelas #mwfdigital

& #39;It& #39;s different to be the third than the first. There was Jenny Shipley, Helen Clark and then Jacinda Ardern. New Zealand& #39;s one of two nations in the world that have been led by a woman three times; the other
one& #39;s Iceland.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;The rate of change is much slower than either of us would like, but I don& #39;t want to underestimate how much has been achieved.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;I think we& #39;re in that really sticky, stubborn middle bit now
where there& #39;s structural changes still to do
to enable women to come forward more easily, but there& #39;s also a whole lot of psychological stereotyping that& #39;s in all of our brains.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;We used Cordelia Fine& #39;s research to debunk neurosexism, that notion that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;But women and men have been socialised differently and so different traits have been praised and rewarded.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;Jacinda Ardern is only the second female world leader to give birth while in office; the first was Benazir Bhutto.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;We don& #39;t transpose the questions about work and family life on to men. The assumption is that there& #39;s someone at home making it possible for them.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;I used to sometimes resent the terminology of "you don& #39;t have a family". I do have a family. I& #39;m not a mother but that doesn& #39;t mean I haven& #39;t got family bonds and ties that are important to me.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;The foundation stone to me on why there should be more women leaders is: merit is equally distributed between the sexes. Everyone has the right to lead their life without artificial barriers placed on them.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;The reason diversity has an extra benefit is that you get different perspectives on life. But the foundation stone is that it& #39;s morally right.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;Jacinda Ardern and Angela Merkel have been lauded for how they& #39;ve managed the pandemic but they& #39;re very different people and they& #39;re very different leaders. Women can be leaders in different ways.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;Once Black women leaders stepped into their international meetings, they were discounted for being women, but also women of colour. I couldn& #39;t have written about that without Ngozi& #39;s insight and the book is immeasurably strengthened by that.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;No one says to men that they can& #39;t complain about anything until the poorest man in the world is leading a good life.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;As the women& #39;s movement has won some advances, we& #39;ve gotten to the stage where there are a few women in senior positions. It can be easy for these women to think that they have to compete against one another instead of working to bust the game open.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;I& #39;m a very big believer that the first step to fixing any problem is shining a light on it and talking about it. And I hope this book does that.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;I assumed the maximum differential treatment would be early in my prime ministership. I underestimated how the gendered insults and abuse would grow over time as the controversial circumstances of the government grew.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;The stereotypical ultra macho bulldozer bluster-style leadership that a number of leading men have been able to get away with has met its match with the coronavirus. The virus will not give way to your bluster.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;It& #39;s a bit like unveiling my portrait in Parliament House. I can be absolutely delighted about it but I& #39;m glad it& #39;s not in my family home. I have the same reaction to looking up the misogyny video on YouTube.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

& #39;For a while, I resented how my misogyny video was flattening everything else. I got a few things done but all everyone wanted to do was talk about that speech. But I& #39;m at peace with it now.& #39; – @JuliaGillard #mwfdigital

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