Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands aside (1 Viewer)

[Mell]

''She was sworn in as Australia's 27th Prime Minister by the country's first female Governor-General...''
Quote from Julia Gillard, Prime Minister After Labor Leadership Challenge

Well done Australia, for starting to represent 100% of your population in your government, rather than 50%. It is about time, but even though it took so long, you are still doing it long before many other parts of the world.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Well done Australia, for starting to represent 100% of your population in your government, rather than 50%. It is about time, but even though it took so long, you are still doing it long before many other parts of the world.

we have quite a few female MP's, and the highest position in Australia, the Governor General, has been held by a female for the past two years, what we should be celebrating, or mourning, is the first red head PM

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

we have quite a few female MP's, and the highest position in Australia, the Governor General, has been held by a female for the past two years, what we should be celebrating, or mourning, is the first red head PM

Didn't know anything about the Aus Labor Party.
Read the wiki article.....:?

Sounds like you guys got a female, ginger Obama.:sarcasticclap

 

[MKULTRABOY]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Wouldn't she have to be both sexes to represent 100% of the population?

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

we have quite a few female MP's, and the highest position in Australia, the Governor General, has been held by a female for the past two years, what we should be celebrating, or mourning, is the first red head PM

What I think we should all be mourning is that it is taking so long for things such as female prime ministers to happen. And, I mourn that so many of us grow up and progress through adulthood, as women, experiencing that sexism and discrimination against members of our gender is way more likely than female prime ministers and governor generals.

But, well done Australia for the progress! Keep it up!

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Wouldn't she have to be both sexes to represent 100% of the population?

No. Men, are already over represented by men, in all governments.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Sounds like you guys got a female, ginger Obama.:sarcasticclap

nah, she's a lot further left than Obama, but so is most of Australian politics, it may not work for you yanks, but it works for us.

 

[Orion]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

She wasn't elected but appointed. I find the celebration pre-mature. If the population at large re-elects this female PM, then I'll concede that progress has been made.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

nah, she's a lot further left than Obama, but so is most of Australian politics, it may not work for you yanks, but it works for us.

I'm not knocking you, that's your prerogative but it's another politician getting elected, that happens to have a vagina.

I'm sorry I tend to be a debby downer when it comes to identity politics.
Her gender isn't supposed to make a difference (at least that's what we've been told all our lives) but now it does.
Slightly annoying.:?

Edit:apparently she was appointed, close enough.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Her gender isn't supposed to make a difference (at least that's what we've been told all our lives) but now it does.
Slightly annoying.:?

yeah, i agree wholeheartedly with that.

Edit:apparently she was appointed, close enough.

she was elected by her party, just not the population as a whole, so technically whe was elected :mrgreen:

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Her gender isn't supposed to make a difference (at least that's what we've been told all our lives) but now it does.
Slightly annoying.:?

Gender has always made a difference to who got into the governments top positions. But, I can certainly agree that it shouldnt make a difference. It is unfortunate, that boosting more women into the top positions in all areas has to be done, just to even the balance and make women in these positions into something seen as normal, so gender wont matter some time in the future.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Gender has always made a difference to who got into the governments top positions. But, I can certainly agree that it shouldnt make a difference. It is unfortunate, that boosting more women into the top positions in all areas has to be done, just to even the balance and make women in these positions into something seen as normal, so gender wont matter some time in the future.

you look at the ratio of men to women in politics, or even interested in politics, it is by far a male dominated field, and that has nothing to do with sexism, and people with the intelligence, charisma and desire to lead a country are hard to come by, let alone picking out one in a minority in the first place, gender shouldn't matter in politics, and in the context of australian politics, the only people who seem to care about it are women and elderly men.

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

she was elected by her party, just not the population as a whole, so technically whe was elected :mrgreen:

I hope she does a good job. There is so much pressure on those women who are the first to make it into these positions, because they are so often seen as 'women leaders', 'women managers'... rather than individuals with a set of strong and weak aspects.

I went to the bank in my area here in Germany last week, and saw a woman manager there. It was the first time I have ever seen one in that bank. Women notice these things. I dont know if women in these positions are starting to be seen as normal, or if companies are being shamed into being more gender fair because other organisations are making progress. Or maybe it is that women have more money to spend these days, because of increasing job opportunities, so companies want to be seen as women friendly. I dont think any women feels comfortable buying something from a company which puts on a blatant display of gender discrimination.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Gender has always made a difference to who got into the governments top positions. But, I can certainly agree that it shouldnt make a difference. It is unfortunate, that boosting more women into the top positions in all areas has to be done, just to even the balance and make women in these positions into something seen as normal, so gender wont matter some time in the future.

I think that women who want these jobs should go after them, no force or handicapping is necessary.
With that I think people should be cautious to automatically assume that a woman in power is great because she could turn out to be a scum bag, just like a guy can be.

I don't judge leaders based on their gender.
I do however notice when women over compensate.
They automatically think they are devalued because of their gender.
It's really aggravating.

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

you look at the ratio of men to women in politics, or even interested in politics, it is by far a male dominated field, and that has nothing to do with sexism, and people with the intelligence, charisma and desire to lead a country are hard to come by, let alone picking out one in a minority in the first place, gender shouldn't matter in politics, and in the context of australian politics, the onlt people who seem to care about it are women and elderly men.

Discrimination always has its roots in greed. Since democracy was invented in ancient Greece, it has been critisised for excluding women. Even the ancient Greeks knew there was something wrong with this, but then there was the battle of good and evil, to contend with, as in all areas of politics, and being fair and reasonable does not count, when evil is winning.



Surely, you can see that systems set up by men, with little to no consideration for the needs of women and children would be more intesting to men. If it wasnt for gender discrimination, political systems would be looking a lot different.



This is the same as what I have heard from many, in relation to women and politics. It is sexism, but likely based on observation without balanced information to back it up, rather than being based on the real evil that caused the problem in the first place.



''...women and elderly men.''

Only! But, that is an important statement anyway. One of the main problems where gender discrimination is concerned is that many men are insensitive to womens issues. As in, it takes a women to see the importance of certain issues most of the time, so it is is vital to womens rights, that women are adequately represented in power systems. Elderly men I suppose have 'interests' to 'protect', so want to maintain a status quo that they think is advantageous to them.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

nah, she's a lot further left than Obama, but so is most of Australian politics, it may not work for you yanks, but it works for us.

I remember when the last POTUS election campaigns were underway - those on the right in the US were (and many still do) calling Obama a "socialist" (one of the more polite insults) whereas here he was described as being to the equivalent of on the right of Thatcher.

Makes you wonder just how "right wing" the right wing in the US is.

To many right wing Americans, we're "decaying old Europe" - but it's nice to see Australia and other nations (I'd include Canada and New Zealand) are closer to much of Europe in terms of the political compass.

***********EDIT**************​

Ooo! And Gillard was born in Barry, South Wales! I used to go to barry island as a kid. Crap sea and beach but great pleasure park.

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

With that I think people should be cautious to automatically assume that a woman in power is great because she could turn out to be a scum bag, just like a guy can be.

I don't judge leaders based on their gender.
I do however notice when women over compensate.
They automatically think they are devalued because of their gender.
It's really aggravating.

Well yeah, women in top positions are trying to fit into something, which women do not readily understand or relate to. Those who manage it without over compensating or turning into scum bags are fantastic diplomats. Men would be experiencing this extra challange that women leaders go through, if the playing field had been tiled in womens favour, rather than mens favour. Things will change, but in order to gain respect and power, in the current system, women have to exhibit their masulculine side to gain respect, and many are failing to do this, as one would expect.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

she's also the first PM to live in a flat with her boyfriend. :mrgreen:

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

I remember when the last POTUS election campaigns were underway - those on the right in the US were (and many still do) calling Obama a "socialist" (one of the more polite insults) whereas here he was described as being to the equivalent of on the right of Thatcher.

Makes you wonder just how "right wing" the right wing in the US is.

To many right wing Americans, we're "decaying old Europe" - but it's nice to see Australia and other nations (I'd include Canada and New Zealand) are closer to much of Europe in terms of the political compass.

How did that happen?

Briefly reading the history of the Thatcher government, she was a fiscal conservative were Barry O. is a fiscal liberal.
Not only that but their social policy is different.

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

she's also the first PM to live in a flat with her boyfriend. :mrgreen:

Woohoo!

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

How did that happen?

Making unreasonable and ludicrious comparisons is what discussion is about for many.

 

[PeteEU]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

I think that women who want these jobs should go after them, no force or handicapping is necessary.
With that I think people should be cautious to automatically assume that a woman in power is great because she could turn out to be a scum bag, just like a guy can be.

I don't judge leaders based on their gender.
I do however notice when women over compensate.

I see. Some do and some do not. Same for men btw.

They automatically think they are devalued because of their gender.

Well they are, in many societies and including the US. Just look at how your female politicians are treated by both sides and especially in certain age groups. I would wager men over 65 would never vote for a woman unless the alternative is really horrible. Women are judged often not by their policies or opinions but by their looks. You always hear what they are wearing (pantssuit comments for example) but you never hear about what the male alternatives are wearing..

And welcome Australia to modern world.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

And welcome Australia to modern world.

and what year did your country give women the vote?

 

[Mell]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

Well they are, in many societies and including the US.

Yeah, it is unreasonable for society to subject women to discrimination, and at the same time critisise them for noticing it.

''Just look at how your female politicians are treated by both sides and especially in certain age groups.''
It is sad, that not all who are sexist are men.

''Women are judged often not by their policies or opinions but by their looks.''
What I find most damaging is that anything a women in a prominent position does wrong, is considered typical of women and there are few examples of women in power to discredit the generalisation, and it is cited as a reason to keep women out of these positions. Propaganda!

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands as

I see. Some do and some do not. Same for men btw.

That's what I said.

Guys can be gigantic douche bags, on the other hand, chicks can be as well.

Well they are, in many societies and including the US. Just look at how your female politicians are treated by both sides and especially in certain age groups. I would wager men over 65 would never vote for a woman unless the alternative is really horrible. Women are judged often not by their policies or opinions but by their looks. You always hear what they are wearing (pantssuit comments for example) but you never hear about what the male alternatives are wearing..

And welcome Australia to modern world.

Depends on the politician.
Hillary is treated like crap because she has proposed some decisive things, just like men have.
In the Hillary example, she's done stuff to bring it on herself.

My state has many female politicians in high office, they haven't had anything nasty hurled at them because they do a reasonable job and don't step into no mans land with asinine statements.