It is Gillard’s ability to connect with, surprise and delight a wide range of people that is her ace card, writes Anne Summers.

THERE’S a story in Sydney, perhaps apocryphal but certainly instructive, of how some time last year the hard men of the NSW Labor Party (the “Sussex Street assassins” as [...]]]> The Age
June 26, 2010

It is Gillard’s ability to connect with, surprise and delight a wide range of people that is her ace card, writes Anne Summers.

THERE’S a story in Sydney, perhaps apocryphal but certainly instructive, of how some time last year the hard men of the NSW Labor Party (the “Sussex Street assassins” as Tony Abbott would have it) reacted nervously to the news that Julia Gillard was planning to attend a big function in the western suburbs.

How would the traditional women of the west react to the deputy prime minister, the backroom boys fretted? After all, she is single, has no kids and lives with a hairdresser. They made some inquiries. The feedback shocked them. These supposedly traditional women had no problem with Julia’s marital status, envied her freedom from the responsibility of children and, most of all, were in awe of her for choosing a hairdresser for a partner!

Read the full article: The ability to connect

Julia Gillard may have played down the significance of her sex when she became Australia’s first female prime minister yesterday, saying she “did not set out to crash my head against any glass ceilings” and pointing out that she was also the first redhead to lead the country. [...]]]> by Anne Summers
Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 2010

Julia Gillard may have played down the significance of her sex when she became Australia’s first female prime minister yesterday, saying she “did not set out to crash my head against any glass ceilings” and pointing out that she was also the first redhead to lead the country. But there is no denying this moment of history.

Nor that it has taken Australia an inordinately long time to achieve it. Alone of the democracies in our region, our political leadership remained conspicuously male-dominated. India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and, of course, New Zealand have all had at least one woman head of government.

Read the rest of my article.

“It is a great honour for me to have been invited to address you today and, especially, to have been introduced by no less a figure than Joan Kirner, whom we all love for the trails she has blazed – especially for women [...]]]> Communities in Control Conference 2010, Moonee Valley Racing Club, Melbourne, 1 June 2010

“It is a great honour for me to have been invited to address you today and, especially, to have been introduced by no less a figure than Joan Kirner, whom we all love for the trails she has blazed – especially for women in politics. Thank you Joan. Thank you for the introduction, and thank you for all you done for those who have come after you.

Last week in The Australian newspaper, the columnist Janet Albrechtson described me as an “aging activist”.

She meant it as an insult.”

Read the rest of my speech.