Speaking to the Diana Rehm Show on U.S radio, Gillard revealed that women were often faced with a dilemma about how to deal with sexism – “do you name it or do you just put up with it?” she asked.
“My first strategy was to ignore it [sexism], but as time went on, increasingly I thought it was better to name it,” Gillard said.
“That happened firstly in the fiery moment of the misogyny speech, but increasingly I did think that I needed to point to and shine a light on sexism.”
The former Labor leader also said she spoke with Hillary Clinton and other fellow female world leaders about the prevalence of sexism and shared experiences of being judged on their appearance and not being treated with the same seriousness as men.
Then Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Perth in 2012.
Then Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Perth in 2012.
Then Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Perth in 2012.
In her new political memoir Hard Choices, which was published last week, Clinton defended Gillard, saying that she experienced “outrageous sexism” that “shouldn’t be tolerated in any country”.
Related: Hillary says Julia faced sexism
